National carrier Air India's entry into Star Alliance will help boost the number of international transit passengers the country handles, a top executive of the global airlines grouping has said.

Experts say that Air India's direct flights to some US cities will provide a convenient option for West-bound passengers of Star Alliance partners Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways.

Similarly, direct Air India flights from New Delhi to Sydney and Melbourne will benefit passengers of Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. "Indeed, we will see many passengers connecting at Indian airports once Air India has become a member," Christian Klick, vicepresident, corporate office, at Star Alliance, told ET. "This is a natural consequence of convenient flight schedules within an airline alliance. The new and modern infrastructure at several Indian airports will definitely support this development."

Air India was reinvited to join the 28-member alliance in December 2013, more than two years after the grouping suspended the integration process saying the carrier was not ready.

Star Alliance offers close to 22,000 daily flights to 1,328 airports in 195 countries. Under the grouping member airlines come together via codeshare alliances and synergise frequent flyer programmes to offer passengers seamless connectivity.

However, a senior Air India executive, who did not wish to be named, said there is still room for improvement before AI can become the airline of choice for Star Alliance passengers. "Honestly, Delhi and Mumbai are the two airports where we can provide a good transit option for Star Alliance's international passengers, but to do that, our ontime performance from those airports needs to have a sharp improvement," the executive said. "But what we can provide immediately for Star Alliance passengers is our network within India."

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