STAR Alliance is asking airports to lower their
landing charges as members struggle to weather the aviation industry’s global
downturn.
At a recent meeting in Miami, the consortium’s board
reaffirmed their commitment to membership of Star Alliance but also hammered
out plans to cut around £70 million from its cost-base by negotiating better
deals with suppliers, consolidating current ground-handling contracts and
closing airport lounges.
A spokesman explained: “Star Alliance airlines offer
around 600 airport lounges globally, including several operated by third
parties. One of the cost-saving measures is to decommission a number of lounges
not owned by member airlines at airports where customers currently have access
to at least two lounges.”
In a joint statement, representatives from the
15-strong alliance stressed its importance. “Our partnership is more important
now than ever before as the global airline industry faces the worst crisis in
its history,” they said. “As much as Star Alliance has proven its value in good
times, it is now demonstrating its value in current times of difficulty.”
At airports where alliance members currently contract
third-party companies to handle passengers and aircraft, contracts will be
terminated – where possible – and replaced with a single ground-handling agent
to serve all alliance members. Star hopes the initiative will save £48 million,
while cutting lounges could save around £16 million.
The spokesman added: “We are also actively approaching
airport operators around the world to secure their support by at least
temporarily lowering the infrastructure charges being levied on member
airlines.
“All these initiatives can be
implemented across the member airlines to quickly reduce costs and improve cash
flow while allowing member carriers to continue offering the same level of
service and customer benefits despite the downturn in passenger numbers.”