Jaan Albrecht, chief executive officer of Star Alliance, the world's largest grouping of airlines, comments on choosing partners in India and Russia, and airlines taking equity shares in other carriers.
All Nippon Airways and Asiana Airlines this week agreed to buy stakes in each other, expanding ties between the second-largest carriers in Japan and South Korea. Asiana shares surged.
On India and Russia:
"Our strategy in Russia and India has been a wait and see approach. These two markets are experiencing serious consolidation. In Russia alone, there are about 200 airlines doing business and consolidation was needed"
"It has been a good strategy to wait and try to select that group of carriers or that carrier that gives us access to the domestic market" in India.
On airlines buying equity stakes in other carriers:
"Star Alliance is all about marketing and commercial relationships. It has not traditionally and historically been about equity swaps."
"What has kept this alliance alive is really the strength of a marketing alliance to the benefit to the customers and, of course, to the benefit of the members. Equity does not mean a deterrent from membership."
"Equity participations are individual carrier decisions."