It has been almost 30 years since the Star Alliance was formed as the world’s first major airline alliance. Founded, as the group’s website recalls, “in 1997 [by] five airlines from the Americas, Europe and Asia,” the alliance has since grown to feature more than two dozen member carriers. Several of these are from Europe, but which ones? Let’s take a look, as well as examining some structural changes.
Lufthansa was a founding member
Back in 1997, the 
Star Alliance
started as a much smaller entity, but with the same goal of bringing the world closer together through codeshares and integrated network and ticketing solutions. Among its five founders was German flag carrier Lufthansa, with the Cologne-headquartered national airline actually being one of two European founders alongside the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS).
Photo: Anton_Ivanov | Shutterstock
However, earlier this year, SAS left the Star Alliance in order to join SkyTeam instead, leaving just four founding members. Alongside 
Lufthansa
, the other three are Asia’s Thai Airways and North America’s Air Canada and United Airlines. Over the years, Lufthansa has celebrated its membership in the Star Alliance by painting jets in a special livery. According to Lockon Aviation, the types used include:
-
Airbus
– A319, A320, A321, A340-300, A340-600.
-
Boeing
– 747-400, 767-300.
- Bombardier CRJ700.
Other Lufthansa Group carriers are also present
Nowadays, Lufthansa is one of several airlines that form the wider Lufthansa Group
. As it happens, several of its partners in this regard are also members of the Star Alliance, with Austrian Airlines having been the first airline to join the group after the turn of the century. The airline came onboard in March of 2000, and, since then, it has painted the following aircraft types in Star Alliance colors:
- Airbus – A320, A330-200.
- Boeing – 737-800, 767-300.
- De Havilland Canada Dash 8.
- Embraer E195.
- Fokker 100.
Photo: Soos Jozsef | Shutterstock
Just over six years later, fellow Lufthansa Group member and European flag carrier Swiss International Airlines joined the Star Alliance in April 2006. Known in short as simply SWISS, the airline also brought leisure carrier Edelweiss Air onboard as an affiliate member. The carrier has painted the Airbus A320 and A330, the British Aerospace 146, and the Fokker 100 in the special Star Alliance livery.
The last Lufthansa Group member to come onboard (at the time of writing, watch this space) was Belgian operator Brussels Airlines. The national airline joined the Star Alliance in December 2009, meaning that it has now been part of the team for some 15 years. The airline has typically favored narrowbody twinjets when it comes to displaying the Star Alliance livery, with the Airbus A319 and A320 being used.
Three new arrivals within 18 months
The mid-2000s were fertile for the Star Alliance when it came to European growth, and several of the continent’s carriers who aren’t part of the Lufthansa Group also came onboard during this era. Indeed, the arrival of LOT Polish Airlines in October 2003 marked the start of an 18-month period in which three European carriers would join. LOT has painted Embraer and Boeing jets in the Star Alliance livery.
Just over a year later, Croatia Airlines became the next European flag carrier to join the party, officially coming onboard in November 2004. The Zagred-headquartered operator, which is in the process of modernizing its fleet with a batch of Airbus A220 narrowbody twinjets, has celebrated its membership in the Star Alliance with special liveries painted on older Airbus narrowbodies, namely the A319 and A320.
March 2005 then heralded the arrival of Portuguese flag carrier TAP Air Portugal into the Star Alliance, alongside its regional brand TAP Express as an affiliate member. Both narrowbodies and widebodies have been used to bear the special Star Alliance livery at the airline, namely the Airbus A320 and A330. As it happens, TAP’s arrival was itself followed less than a year later by that of SWISS.
Two more members
There are still another pair of European member airlines to cover before we can be said to have covered the whole of the Star Alliance’s current European contingent. The first of these is Turkish Airlines, which joined the group in April 2008, and brought with it one of the world’s largest and most diverse route networks. The carrier has painted A320s, A321s, A330s, A340s, and 737s in the special livery.
Finally, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines (and its regional subsidiary Olympic Air as an affiliate member) joined the Star Alliance just over 14 years ago, back in June of 2010. As one of the group’s smaller carriers by fleet and network size, it is perhaps unsurprising to see that it has painted just two Airbus A320s in the Star Alliance livery. According to ATDB.aero, these are registered as SX-DVQ and SX-DVR.
Another European member will join soon
As mentioned previously, 2024 was a year in flux for the Star Alliance when it came to the group’s European members, following the departure of SAS to SkyTeam. However, this lost member is set to be replaced by a fresh face from the continent.
Specifically, Executive Traveller reported recently that Italian flag carrier ITA Airways would be joining the Star Alliance in 2025, in a move that directly contrasts that of SAS. The reason for the airline’s planned transfer over from SkyTeam is the fact that Lufthansa is in the process of merging with ITA, although the Italian airline has reportedly been open about its ambitions to join Star Alliance for some time.