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The Star Alliance is targeting transfer times as short as 45 minutes when its 23 member airlines move into the new Terminal 2 building at Heathrow.
The 23 carriers are due to move in over a phased five-month period, starting with United in early June.
Speaking at the unveiling on Wednesday of a new 78-metre sculpture which will greet passengers travelling through the terminal, Star Alliance chief executive Mark Schwab said an initial objective would be to reduce transfer times from the current “90-minutes plus” to around an hour.
And he confirmed that the next target would be to attempt to rival times achieved at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport of around 45 minutes.
Schwab said: “Terminal 2 combines the best of technology with the best of service, and it will allow us to provide our customers with a completely new service at Heathrow.
“London Heathrow represents an extremely important centrepiece among many centrepieces around the world, and nowhere else do we have as many airline members operating in one place.”
The new Terminal 2 has cost £2.5 billion, and will be home to Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic Little Red and Germanwings in addition to the Star Alliance carriers.
The Slipstream sculpture (pictred above) has been designed by British artist Richard Wilson, and will become one of Britain’s most viewed public sculptures as Terminal 2 welcomes 20 million passengers a year.