STAR ALLIANCE AND GUANGZHOU BAIYUN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR ENHANCED PREMIUM CUSTOMER FACILITIESMemorandum of Understanding signed for Star Alliance Branded Lounge Guangzhou, China - December 20th, 2018
Star Alliance and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co. Ltd. (CAN) have agreed on space allocation to facilitate the establishment of a Star Alliance branded lounge at the airport. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by Jeffrey Goh, CEO Star Alliance and Qiu Jiachen, Chairman of the Board, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
This is a milestone for both Star Alliance and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, as it establishes the foundation for development of co-located check-in and gate facilities, connection services and a Star Alliance branded lounge at Terminal 1 for use by the 10 member carriers of the Alliance serving this dynamic market. Taken all together, this elevates the status of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to a hub airport for the Alliance in the People’s Republic of China
“This is an excellent decision for all parties”, said Qiu Jiachen, Chairman of the Board, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. “Having a renowned Star Alliance branded lounge within the Terminal 1 facilities reflects the desire of CAN to provide the major global airline alliance groups an enhanced customer experience at our airport.”
“Lounge access is continually rated as a key Alliance benefit by our premium customers. Soon being able to provide our own dedicated premium customer facility in Guangzhou is great news for our member carriers’ passengers. Furthermore, it enhances our position at one of our key hub airports in China”, said Jeffrey Goh, CEO Star Alliance.
Star Alliance First and Business Class passengers as well as Star Alliance Gold Card holders currently have access to more than 1,000 lounges across the Alliance’s global airline network. In addition to airlines’ own lounges and those operated by third parties, Star Alliance offers seven branded lounges. These are located in Buenos Aires (EZE), Los Angeles (LAX), Nagoya (NGO), Paris (CDG), Rio de Janeiro (GIG), Rome (FCO) and São Paulo (GRU).
“In addition to rolling out our digital strategy, Star Alliance is also investing in its lounge product. Following the successful opening the Rome lounge in 2018, Amsterdam and Guangzhou will feature new Star Alliance Lounges in 2019, with refurbishments planned for our existing properties in Nagoya and Paris”, commented Goh.
The Star Alliance branded lounges can also be explored virtually on www.staralliance.com/lounges which allows users to “visit” the lounges in the digital world.
10 Star Alliance member airlines serve Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport: Air China, ANA, Asiana Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and THAI. Together they operate over 105 flights per day, connecting Guangzhou with direct services to 36 destinations in China, and a further 12 destinations in 10 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe
About Star Alliance:
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,800 daily flights to 1,317 airports in 193 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.
About Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport:
Being one of the three largest hub airports in China, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has a complete route network, covering over 130 destinations in China as well as connecting all continents on Earth. Until now, there have been 50 international airlines operating in Baiyun Airport, and the international and regional destinations reached more than 80. In 2017, the passenger throughput of Baiyun Airport was 65.84 million, and the cargo throughput reached 1.78 million tonnes, Baiyun Airport ranked the 13th by passenger throughput around the world. Baiyun Airport covers an area of 26 square kilometres, and it will be enlarged to 46 square kilometres in the future. Terminal 1 takes up 523,000 m2, equipped with three independent runway operations, 138 parking bays (including 68 air bridges), 45 freight flight bays (including 30 Fedex freight flight bays).Terminal 2 was put into operation on 26th April 2018, which covers 630,000 m2, designed to have a capacity of 45 million passengers, with 81 parking bays, 308 manual check-in counters，110 self- check-in kiosks and 88 boarding gates. Now the scheduled capacity of passenger throughput can reach 80 million.
Further information can be obtained via:
Star Alliance Press Office
Tel: +49 69 96375 183, Fax: +49 69 96375 683
Email: mediarelations@staralliance.com, www.staralliance.com
Twitter @staralliance https://twitter.com/staralliance
Facebook: www.facebook.com/staralliance
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/star-alliance
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/staralliancenetwork
Instagram: https://instagram.com/staralliance/
