Star Alliance is the World’s Leading Airline Alliance at the World Travel Awards 2024

Earlier, in the North America edition in July 2024, Star Alliance’s Los Angeles Airport Lounge also achieved significant recognition by securing the title of North America’s Leading Airport Lounge for the fifth year running, reinforcing its standing as a leader in airport hospitality. 

Expressing his gratefulness for this latest accolade, Star Alliance CEO Theo Panagiotoulias stated, "We are incredibly honoured to receive the title of the World’s Leading Airline Alliance yet again. This enduring achievement reflects the collective dedication of Star Alliance and member airline employees and their commitment to deliver seamless travel experiences. We also extend our deepest thanks to our valued customers for their continued trust and support"

Now in its 31^st edition, the World Travel Awards aims to recognise and celebrate excellence across various sectors of the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries. Winners are determined based on a worldwide poll involving qualified executives in the travel sector, alongside consumer travel buyers.

Graham E. Cooke, Founder, World Travel Awards, said: "A heartfelt congratulations to Star Alliance for winning ’World’s Leading Airline Alliance 2024’. This outstanding accomplishment highlights how the organisation is raising the bar in aviation alliances. Its dedication to providing customers with seamless journeys – from booking and airports to connections and loyalty – is unrivalled. The dedication of the entire Star Alliance team is inspiring"

In addition to the alliance-level award, several Star Alliance member airlines also claimed individual victories this year, showcasing the collective strength and service excellence that Star Alliance brings to travellers worldwide. The member airlines were recognised with awards in four categories, including World’s Leading Airline to North America, Asia, Africa, and South America.

About Air New Zealand:

Air New Zealand’s story started in 1940, first taking to the skies between Auckland and Sydney on a flying boat - a Short S30. Known for its warm Kiwi hospitality, today, the airline has operating aircraft ranging from Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A320s to ATRs and Q300s, offering customers comfort in the latest most efficient jets and turboprops. It’s a modern fuel-efficient fleet with an average age of 8.7 years. Air New Zealand’s global network of passenger and cargo services centres around New Zealand. In 2023, the airline flew more than 16 million passengers. Air New Zealand was named 2024 World’s Safest Airline by the Australian rating service AirlineRatings.com, highlighting the airline’s laser-focus on safety and won Best Corporate Reputation in New Zealand in 2023 – the 9th year in a row.  

Air New Zealand has a well-connected domestic business, connecting customers and cargo to 20 different regions around New Zealand. Internationally, the airline has direct flights to major cities across Australia, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the US, and through its strong relationships with alliance partners, offers customers more choice and convenience to connect further afield to hundreds of destinations. Air New Zealand has a particular focus on sustainability and its Sustainability Framework helps guide the airline’s efforts in tackling some of New Zealand’s and the world’s most complex challenges. Airpoints, Air New Zealand’s loyalty programme, is seen as the most valuable loyalty programme in New Zealand with more than 4 million members. It allows members to earn Airpoints Dollars™ and Status Points for VIP benefits in the air and on the ground. Air New Zealand aircraft are proudly identified by its distinct tail livery of the Mangōpare, the Māori symbol of the hammerhead shark which represents strength, tenacity, and resilience.

About Star Alliance

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance, based on a customer value proposition of global reach, worldwide recognition and seamless service. Since inception, it has offered the largest and most comprehensive airline network, with a focus on improving customer experience across the Alliance journey.

The member airlines are: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, 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 16,000 daily flights to almost 1,200 airports in 186 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partners Juneyao Airlines and THAI Smile Airways.

For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.com and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com