The alliance, whose 28 airline members include ANA, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and United, has recently announced a partnership with NEC Corporation to develop biometric data-based identification to streamline the airport experience for passengers.
The first such facility is expected to go live at a Star Alliance hub by the first quarter of 2020.
Earlier this summer the alliance launched a Connection Service at key alliance hubs – including London Heathrow’s Terminal 2 – to assist passengers with tight connections between two Star Alliance member airline flights.
It is also now available at Chicago, Frankfurt, Houston, Munich, New York Newark and Toronto airports.
Some 8,300 passengers are reported to have benefitted from the service to date.
“It’s all about enhancing the passenger experience ,” says Julie Murphy, Chair of the Star Alliance Country Steering Group UK. “Technology will be the thing that takes Star Alliance forward.”
Murphy adds: “We’re going to use biometrics to take passengers from the kerbside to the gate and really streamline the airport experience. It demonstrates real innovation from our perspective.”
The alliance has also relaunched its round-the-world ticket offering, reducing the minimum number of stops from three to two.
“The fares are now more competitive and we are seeing a definite shift towards corporate use,” says Murphy.
“The UK is one of the of the largest originating destinations for round-the-world tickets on our network,” she adds.
Star Alliance was named best airline alliance for the fourth consecutive year in the annual Skytrax awards in June.
