At a ceremony held on 18 th November in Frankfurt, Germany, both Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines signed contracts which will see both carriers become regional members of the Star Alliance network as of December 15, 2004. With the addition of these two carriers, Star Alliance, the airline network for Earth™, will further enhance the quality of its network, especially to and from south-eastern Europe, strengthening the alliance’s role as the leading airline alliance to the new and future EU member countries. Star Alliance already offers more than 1750 weekly flights to 21 destinations in the ten countries which joined the EU in May of this year. More importantly, customers in both Adria Airways’ and Croatia Airlines’ respective home markets will now benefit from improved access to the world-wide Star Alliance network. Moreover, both airlines’ passengers will benefit from the customer proposition offered by the Star Alliance member carriers, such as through check-in, status recognition, lounge access, frequent flyer accrual and redemption.

Star Alliance was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer customers global reach and a smooth travel experience. The member carriers offer more than 14,000 daily flights, serving 755 destinations in 133 countries.

The members are: