I cracked Air Canada Elite last month, meaning I got a shiny
new card with the Star Alliance Gold logo, so I can finally
see if those United Red Carpet Lounges that Rohit is always
on about are really all that special ;-). I'm aiming for
SuperElite this year (100K qualifying miles, ie on any Star
Alliance carriers), which at this rate I should hit by
October. It doesn't really confer much more than Elite though,
mainly just waiving of blackout dates for reward travel.
SuperElite *does* confer a "priority" email address to contact AC,
while Elite & Prestige & riffraff have to make do with 1-800 numbers.
That's supposed to impress me? Shit, that's embarassing - that
email access should be seen as a 'perk' in this day & age :-((.
Oh, yeah, the news:
http://www.aircanada.ca/about-us/news/051498b.html
> Release: May 14 1998
>
> TWO ADDITIONAL AIRLINES TO JOIN STAR ALLIANCE
>
> MONTREAL - Star Alliance, the airline network for earth, today
> announced plans to add two more members.
>
> Air New Zealand and Ansett Australia have signed memoranda confirming
> their intent to join the alliance in 1999. The two airlines will
> begin work immediately to implement the Star Alliance customer
> benefits required for membership.
... stuff about "Air New Zealand delighted to join..." deleted...
> Together, the member airlines of Star Alliance currently serve
> more than 640 destinations around the world. On average, a Star
> Alliance flight takes off every 15 seconds, around the clock.
> With the addition of Air New Zealand and Ansett, Star Alliance
> will serve more than 700 destinations worldwide.