Making use of the opportunity provided by India’s expanding airport infrastructure, Star Alliance becomes the first and only airline alliance to establish a series of joint passenger amenities and related infrastructure at the newly developed Terminal 3 at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

A ribbon-cutting marked the opening of the new facilities on the first day of operations in the new terminal today. Check-in counters for all member carriers are co-located in rows E,F,G,H,J and K. In addition, Austrian, Continental Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS share a joint ticket desk which is accessible from both inside and outside the terminal, allowing easier access for passengers needing ticketing assistance. Overall, the co-located Star Alliance area will offer unprecedented customer experience in conjunction with New Delhi’s newest air terminal. Future Star Alliance member carrier Air India is also located in the same area, so as to provide seamless service to customers upon their joining.

Recognising Star Alliance’s presence at Terminal 3, developer Delhi International Airport (P) Limited, has also enabled individual member carrier operational back-offices to be positioned in a common area, directly overlooking the check-in area for greater synergies.

Lee Hock Lye, Vice President Products and Services, Star Alliance said: “Our presence at Terminal 3 through Star Alliance’s ‘Move under one Roof’ and Seamless Alliance Travel Experience strategies pave the way for unsurpassed passenger convenience at an important and developing Star Alliance destination. We have ensured that from the onset many facilities are shared with future member carrier Air India, thereby laying the groundwork for offering a seamless alliance product, from the moment they officially join.”

With Air India* developing Terminal 3 into its integrated hub and as a part of the co-location programme currently underway, Star Alliance First and Business Class passengers along with Star Alliance Gold members can look forward to a new and modern Air India Lounge , set to open in the middle of September. In the interim, eligible Star Alliance customers will have access to either the Premium Plaza or the ITC Group Lounge**.

Building on the success of similar installations at airports such as Paris – Charles de Gaulle, London – Heathrow or Tokyo – Narita, the Star Alliance member carriers flying to Delhi will be offering a Star Alliance’s Common Baggage Service Facility for arriving passengers. Here both member carrier and Air India* passengers will have their mishandled baggage queries addressed in an expedient manner.

Locating the member carriers into a single terminal is called “Move under one Roof”, a programme that is in place at more than a dozen airports around the world, like for example Beijing, Paris – Charles de Gaulle, Tokyo – Narita.

From Delhi’s Indira Ghandi International Airport, nine Star Alliance member carriers offer more than 70 flights to 10 Star Alliance hubs in nine countries. From these hubs – Bangkok, Beijing, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Munich, Newark (New York), Seoul – Incheon, Singapore, Vienna and Zurich – passengers can connect to reach the over 1,100 destinations served by the Star Alliance network.