Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines officially join Star Alliance

Star Alliance welcomed (21-Jun-2012) Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines into the alliance, expanding its presence in Latin America and adding close to 50 new airports to the network. With Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines now being part of the Star Alliance network, passengers will be able to connect through the Copa Airlines hubs in Panama City (Panama) and Bogota (Colombia) and the Avianca, TACA Airlines hubs in Bogota (Colombia), San Salvador (El Salvador), Lima (Peru) and San Jose (Costa Rica). Avianca, TACA Airlines serve more than 100 destinations, operating a fleet of more than 150 modern short, medium and long-range aircraft. Avianca, TACA Airlines, which each consolidate several smaller Latin American carriers, agreed to a strategic merger in Oct-2009, TACA's initial began negotiations for Star Alliance membership in 2008. The two airlines of Copa Holdings -Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia - serve 64 destinations in 29 countries. The group recently strengthened its presence in Colombia, by rebranding Aero Republica to Copa Airlines Colombia. Copa's entrance into Star Alliance reinforces its 12-year-old alliance with United-Continental. Aeroplan, Scandinavian Airlines and United Airlines separately welcomed Avianca, TACA and Copa Airlines to the Star Alliance. [more - original PR - Copa Airlines] [more - original PR - Star Alliance] [more - original PR - Aeroplan] [more - original PR - SAS] [more - original PR - United Airlines] [more - CAPA Analysis]