It was a dream Strasbourg for a long time. That of once again benefiting from a regular service to Germany, its neighbour. While the potential is there, Strasbourg airport has had to contend in the past with the growing power of the Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden hub, some forty kilometres away on the other side of the Rhine.
But times are changing, and the potential of the Eurometropolis finally convinced Lufthansa to conquer the Strasbourg market. Since 9 AprilThe German carrier is chartering a 90-seat Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft from Slovenian carrier Adria Airways to connect Strasbourg to Munich five times a week. This flight complements the six daily departures operated by the Lufthansa Express Bus from Strasbourg city centre to Munich airport. Frankfurtbut also the five weekly frequencies operated by Brussels Airlines - another Lufthansa subsidiary - on Brussels.
Star Alliance is therefore well on the way to establishing itself as the leading airline alliance in Strasbourg, taking over this position from its competitor Skyteam. Another stage in Star Alliance's conquest of Strasbourg is just around the corner. Turkish Airlines is preparing to launch a new route between Istanbul and Strasbourg, its eighth destination in France. Strasbourg will be operating an Airbus A319 or A321, or alternatively a Boeing 737-800, with four weekly flights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) to Istanbul. Following the example of Munich, the new flight to the Istanbul hub will give passengers from the Alsace metropolis access to a network of over 300 connecting cities in the rest of the world in 140 countries. Strasbourg will have connections to nearly sixty cities in Asia and the Middle East, as well as around fifty cities in Africa.
As for Skyteam, its influence has gradually diminished over the years. Admittedly, the alliance is still present with Air France-KLM, Air France HOP and CSA, which operate flights to three major hubs - Amsterdam, Prague and Lyon, the latter focusing more on regional connections. But the discontinuation of flights to Paris-CDG - replaced by direct TGV links to Roissy from Strasbourg station - and those to Rome have contributed to this relative weakening. Star would be wrong not to take advantage...
A renovated lounge at Paris-CDG At the same time as conquering Strasbourg, Star Alliance is giving its Paris showcase a facelift. The airline alliance has just completed the renovation of its lounge at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) airport. Inaugurated in 2008, the Star Alliance lounge can accommodate more than 220 passengers - there are 250,000 travellers a year - over a surface area of 980 m². " We are delighted to be able to offer our passengers departing from Paris and connecting passengers an incomparable welcome in a well-equipped area where they can sit back, relax and begin a pleasant journey. "says Christian Dräger, Star Alliance VP Customer Experience. Star Alliance has no fewer than 21 member airlines at Paris airport, covering a network of 41 destinations in 25 countries. |
