BARCELONA, Spain - June 18th, 2009
STAR ALLIANCE FIRST TO OPERATE FROM TERMINAL 1 IN BARCELONA
BARCELONA, Spain – June 18th, 2009 – All 14 Star Alliance member carriers serving Barcelona have moved to the new Terminal 1 at “El Prat” Airport: Adria Airways, Austrian, Blue1, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, SWISS, TAP, Turkish Airlines and US Airways. This makes Star Alliance the first alliance to operate from this facility, which welcomed its first passengers yesterday. Future member airlines Aegean Airlines and Brussels Airlines are also operating from Terminal 1 and provisions have already been made to accommodate Continental Airlines in the same area at a later stage.
Following the alliance’s ”Move under one Roof” (MuoR) strategy, check-in and ticketing counters used by the member carriers have been co-located, with numerous self service check-in facilities available. The more than 700 weekly flights operated by the member carriers from the Catalan capital all leave from the same part of the terminal, which also improves the customer experience for connecting passengers. Additionally, the “preferred gate” concept allocates gates nearest to the designated lounge facilities.
Until September, First and Business Class passengers as well as Star Alliance Gold Card holders will enjoy quality and comfort at the VIP lounge operated by the Spanish National Airports Company (AENA). Then Spanair will open the doors of their new 800 square metre VIP lounge, the largest at Barcelona Airport, providing eligible passengers a wide range of superior services and facilities.
On the arrivals side, any baggage enquiries will be handled at the Star Alliance branded Common Baggage Service Facility.
All in all, Star Alliance member carriers currently offer 42 destinations in 20 countries from Barcelona, a number which is set to rise to 45 cities in 22 countries once Aegean Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Continental Airlines are on board.
Planning to move together in Terminal 1 began as early as 2005 and was carried out by a team of Star Alliance and member carrier experts led by home carrier Spanair. This has now laid the foundation for future expansion of Star Alliance in Spain.
http://www.staralliance.com/en/press/press_releases/2009/staralliance-terminal1-barcelona.html
