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Thai Smile to be Star Connecting Partner
June 7th 2019
Membership to be completed by year end. Read More »
Thai Smile will be the second Connecting Partner of Star Alliance, the alliance announced during the IATA AGM in Seoul this week. Thai Smile is expected to join Star by the end of 2019, making it the second member after Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines, which became a Connecting Partner in 2017. The platform was launched with South African Airways’ Mango. The carrier did not end up joining the alliance because of restructuring challenges.
Connecting Partners work with Star members on connecting itineraries and not solely point-to-point journeys. They can choose the Star members they want to work with, unlike Star membership where all members have to have a relationship with each other. Thai Smile has not yet said which initial Star members it will work with.
Thai Smile was established under Thai Airways’ TG code, but now flies under its own code, WE. Transitioning Thai Smile to its own code ended alliance benefits.
