Aegean Airlines to join Star Alliance

Greek carrier Aegean Airlines will join the Star Alliance, which includes UAL Corp's United, Germany's Lufthansa, Air Canada and Continental. The move would give Aegean, which became Greece's largest airline by passenger numbers last year, access to many markets across the globe with large communities of Greek descendants, executives said.
Aegean, which competes with former state carrier Olympic Airlines, operates a fleet of 31 aircraft covering 47 domestic and international routes.
Members of the airline alliance cooperate on route scheduling and revenue sharing. The Star Alliance competes with two other alliances — Sky Team and Oneworld.
"Becoming a member of Star Alliance represents both an honour and a great opportunity," said Aegean Chairman Theodore Vassilakis. "As we continue to grow our network we are committed to become valuable contributors to this great alliance."
Executives said teams from Aegean and Star Alliance will start the integration work shortly, expecting completion in about 12 months. Once complete, the Star Alliance will encompass a total of 26 carriers.
Aegean shares have gained 20.3 percent since the start of the year, underperforming the broader Greek market's 27.5 percent advance. They trade 8 times estimated earnings compared to a multiple of 24 for Lufthansa, according to Reuters Estimates data.