First Star Alliance Lounge Opened at Zurich Airport

    ZURICH, Switzerland, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Star Alliance(TM), the
 airline network for Earth, today officially inaugurated its first airport
 lounge in an exclusive Star Alliance design at Zurich International Airport.
     The 6,900 square feet (637 square meter) facility is a prototype for
 future Star Alliance lounges that the global airline partnership plans to open
 at a number of airports within its extensive route network.  Locations
 currently being evaluated include Brussels, Buenos Aires, Manila and Terminal
 Four at Los Angeles International Airport.
     Star Alliance elite-status customers already have access to more than
 550 airport lounges worldwide on six continents, more than any other alliance.
 Common Star Alliance lounges like the one in Zurich provide a solution for
 those markets where individual Star Alliance carriers do not generate enough
 traffic to warrant their own facilities.
     Situated in Terminal B of Zurich International Airport, the Star Alliance
 lounge has a seating capacity of 30 in the First Class section and 130 in the
 Business Class area.  The lounge welcomes Star Alliance First and Business
 Class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members holding a ticket on any one of
 the six alliance airlines which operate from the Swiss airport:  Air Canada,
 Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines,
 Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways International.   Together, the Star
 Alliance carriers offer 36 daily departures out of Zurich.
     The Star Alliance lounge in Zurich was designed by Toronto architects
 Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB).  With its extensive use of
 natural stone, wood -- in particular walnut and birch -- and woven metal
 screens, the concept is that of an urban garden.
     The lounge caters to travelers seeking to relax as well as to those doing
 business.  Lounge seating is comfortable and casual, yet elegant, offering a
 mix of high-quality classic and contemporary Italian furniture design.  A
 separate section of the business class area is reserved for workstation desks
 equipped with internet connections, telephones and fax machines.
     The design concept carries over beyond the lounge itself to include all
 airport-related Star Alliance facilities such as dedicated Star Alliance
 check-in and sales counters, transfer facilities and baggage service
 facilities.  This facility's design will also be implemented at other airports
 throughout the network.
     Star Alliance was established in May 1997.  It groups 15 of the world's
 leading airlines in a partnership designed to provide customers the benefits
 of global reach and a smooth travel experience.  The member airlines are Air
 Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA - All Nippon Airways, Ansett Australia, Austrian
 Airlines, bmi british midland, Lauda Air, Lufthansa German Airlines, Mexicana
 Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways
 International, Tyrolean Airways, United Airlines and Varig Brazilian Airlines.
 
 

SOURCE  Star Alliance