Airbus A320 family

The Airbus A320 family consists of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The family includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, as well as the ACJ business jet. The A320s are also named A320ceo (current engine option) after the introduction of the A320neo. Final assembly of the family takes place in Toulouse, France, and Hamburg, Germany; a plant in Tianjin, China, has also been producing aircraft for Chinese airlines since 2009. Construction of a new production facility in Mobile, Alabama began in 2013. The aircraft family can accommodate up to 220 passengers and has a range of 3,100 to 12,000 km (1,700 to 6,500 nmi), depending on model.

The first member of the A320 family—the A320—was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was first delivered in March 1988. The family was soon extended to include the A321 (first delivered 1994), the A319 (1996), and the A318 (2003). The A320 family pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire flight control systems, as well as side-stick controls, in commercial aircraft. There has been a continuous improvement process since introduction.

Star Alliance

Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its current CEO is Mark Schwab and its headquarters is in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. As of 31 March 2014 Star Alliance is the largest global alliance by passenger count with 637.6 million, ahead of SkyTeam (588 million) and Oneworld (512.8 million). Its slogan is "The Way The Earth Connects".

As of March 2014 Star Alliance's 27 member airlines operate a fleet of about 4,000 aircraft, serve more than 1,000 airports in 194 countries and carry 637.6 million passengers per year on more than 18,000 daily departures. The alliance has a two-tier rewards program, Silver and Gold, with incentives including priority boarding and upgrades. Like other airline alliances, Star Alliance airlines share airport terminals (known as co-location) and many member planes are painted in the alliance's livery.

History

1997–1999: First alliance

On 14 May 1997, an agreement was announced forming Star Alliance from five airlines on three continents: Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and United Airlines. The alliance chose Young & Rubicam for advertising, with a budget of $25 million (€18 million). The airlines shared the star logo from the beginning, with its five points representing the founding airlines. The alliance adopted its first slogan, "The Airline Network for Earth", with its goal "an alliance that will take passengers to every major city on earth".

Aegean Airlines

Aegean Airlines S.A. (Greek: Αεροπορία Αιγαίου Ανώνυμη Αεροπορική Εταιρεία,Aeroporía Aigíou Anónime Etairía pronounced [aeropoˈria eˈʝeu]; LSE: 0OHY) is the largest Greek airline by total number of passengers carried, by number of destinations served and by fleet size. A Star Alliance member since June 2010, it operates scheduled and charter services from Athens and Thessaloniki to other major Greek destinations as well as to a number of European destinations. Its main hubs are Athens International Airport in Athens, Thessaloniki International Airport in Thessaloniki and Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus. It also uses other Greek airports as bases, some of which are seasonal. It has its head office in Kifisia, a suburb of Athens. Although the airline is the largest airline in Greece, it is not a flag carrier.

On 21 October 2012, Aegean Airlines announced that it had struck a deal to acquire Olympic Air, and the buyout was approved by the European Commission a year later, on 9 October 2013. Both carriers continue to operate under separate brands. In addition, Aegean Airlines participated in the final stages of the tender for the privatization of Cyprus Airways, the national carrier of Cyprus. Following the bankruptcy of Cyprus Airways, Aegean Airways established a hub at Larnaca Airport, thus initiating scheduled flights to and from the island to various destinations and filling the service gap created by the services termination of Cyprus Airways.

Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa AG (FWB: LHA) (German pronunciation: [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈlʊfthanzaː]), commonly known as Lufthansa (sometimes also as Lufthansa German Airlines), is a German airline and, when combined with its subsidiaries, the largest airline in Europe, both in terms of passengers carried and fleet size. It operates services to 18 domestic destinations and 197 international destinations in 78 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe, using a fleet of more than 280 aircraft. Lufthansa is one of the five founding members of Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance, formed in 1997. The name of the company is derived from Luft (the German word for "air"), and Hansa (a Latin term meaning "guild" most commonly used historically in reference to the Hanseatic League).

Besides its own passenger airlines Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Eurowings and Germanwings (referred to in English by Lufthansa as its Passenger Airline Group), Deutsche Lufthansa AG owns several aviation-related companies such as Lufthansa Technik as part of the Lufthansa Group. Combined with its subsidiaries, the group has over 615 aircraft, making it one of the largest passenger airline fleets in the world. In 2014, the group carried over 106 million passengers.

All Nippon Airways

All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (全日本空輸株式会社, Zen Nippon Kūyu Kabushiki gaisha, TYO: 9202, LSE: ANA, OTC Pink: ALNPY), also known as Zennikkū (全日空) or ANA, is the largest airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located at Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had 12,360 employees as of March 2015. In May 2010, ANA's total passenger traffic was up year-on-year by 7.8%, and its international services grew by 22% to 2.07 million passengers in the first five months of 2010. ANA's main international hubs are at Narita International Airport outside Tokyo and Kansai International Airport outside Osaka. Its main domestic hubs are at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), Osaka International Airport (Itami), Chūbu Centrair International Airport (near Nagoya), and New Chitose Airport (near Sapporo).

In addition to its mainline operations, ANA controls several subsidiary passenger carriers, including its regional airline, ANA Wings and charter carrier, Air Japan. Additional smaller carriers include Air Do, a low-cost carrier operating scheduled service between Tokyo and cities in Hokkaido, Vanilla Air, a low-cost carrier serving resort and selected international destinations, and Allex Cargo (ANA Cargo), the freighter division operated by Air Japan. In October 1999, the airline became a member of Star Alliance. ANA is also the largest shareholder in Peach, a low-cost carrier joint venture with First Eastern Investment Group. On 29 March 2013, ANA was announced as a 5-Star Airline by Skytrax.