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Continental Airlines joins Star Alliance

Today sees Continental Airlines officially become part of Star Alliance after over a year of improvements and upgrades to become part of the alliance. Continental were previously a member of SkyTeam alliance who has little presence in the Australasia region with the only Australia - Asia route being Sydney - Korea. So let's see how this impacts the Star Alliance round the world.

Additional Hub Cities

Continental have three main hub cities in Houston, Cleveland and Newark, New Jersey. Newark is an alternative for travellers flying to New York. Adding many routes in through Houston is a huge win for Star Alliance as it fills a gap in their alliance. Previously, United and US Air were the US carriers for Star which meant a solid network based around the hub cities of Denver, Phoenix, Chicago, Washington and Charlotte with many other routes also possible. Now that 3 additional hub cities are included in the network it widens the gap to the oneworld alliance where the only carrier in the US is American Airlines. Star Alliance also contains Air Canada so the available routes in North America are second to none.

Filling the NYC void

Star Alliance has always had the problem that the New York - Europe leg was dominated by oneworld carriers BA, AA and Iberia, particularly to western Europe. Now, with Continental Airlines onboard we have many more direct services from Newark Airport. A little further afield than JFK Airport but it means we no longer have to send passengers via Montreal or Washington when headed to London, Madrid or Paris, in particular. Continental even do a direct flight from Newark to Delhi.

Bridging the Gap in South America

It's no secret that Star Alliance is pretty weak in South America after losing Varig a few years back. Even then they were no way near oneworld who has LAN on their books. We can only hope that one day TACA will come on board for Star Alliance but for now at least there are additional services from the US - South/Latin America that can be connected with flights from Europe or South Africa. This can be useful for passengers flying into Buenos Aires, on let's say South African Airways, they can now make their own way to Lima, Bogota, Quito and more. Furthermore, Continental have a great deal more flights ex-Houston down to Central America that is a huge help in an area only getting more popular.

Micronesia

Not that it's the most popular part of the world but divers will be glad to know that Continental Airlines joining Star Alliance opens up the route from Cairns to Guam. Guam is a mini-hub in the Pacific for Continental Micronesia with flights around the region to places like Pulau. These islands are particular popular for SCUBA diving. Guam also connects to Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong and Bali so for people leaving ex-Cairns it's a welcome addition to the network.

Hopefully we'll see more airlines finalise the move to Star Alliance in coming months, Aegean Airlines are set to be the next airline and would open up the Greek market which is often an issue on round the world itineraries. For example, Athens - Rome is a very popular route but no one that flies the route is part of any airline alliance.

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