The Ministry of Civil Aviation will take a decision on Jet Airways' application to join the Star Alliance only after the alliance, comprising 27 airlines across the globe, has decided on Air India’s membership.

Last year, despite the process of admission being in the final stages, Air India's membership was put on hold by the alliance because it did not meet certain conditions.

A senior civil aviation ministry official said: “The ministry will consider Jet Airways’ request to join the Star Alliance only after there is some conclusive decision on Air India’s membership…. The alliance should clarify about Air India’s membership, or the airline could withdraw its request. Only then would Jet’s case be taken forward.”

Star Alliance was founded on May 14, 1997 by Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways, United Airlines. Today it has 27 full members and connects 1,356 airports across 193 countries.  It has 678.5 million annual passengers as per a report in Business Standard.

Jet Airways will benefit code sharing between two airlines (seamless travel for passengers), convenient branding, facilitating travellers making inter-airline codeshare connections within countries, redeem miles: faster mileage rewards by earning miles for a single account on several different carriers and a wider range of airport lounges shared with alliance members.

Lufthansa, the mentor airlines in Star alliance for Air India, has maintained more than one airline from a country could become a member of the alliance, as was the case with airlines from China, Africa and Brazil.

Air India had earlier opposed Jet Airways’ proposed entry into the alliance, alleging Lufthansa did not favour the state-owned airline, which the German airline denied.

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