Star Alliance Expands Connection Service to Pearson
The Star Alliance Connection Service is now available at Toronto Pearson International Airport, assisting passengers with tight connections between Star Alliance member airline flights.
Dedicated Connection Service staff use special software to monitor the transfer window for customers with onward flights. Cases where passengers and checked bags appear in danger of missing a connection are automatically highlighted. The Connection Service agent can thereby already consider the various options available to ensure that the customer reaches the onward flight, or if necessary book alternative options, before the inbound flight even lands.
“With Connection Service now available in Toronto, we will ensure that more passengers with tight connections can make their onward flight, thereby improving the travel experience at one of our main hubs in North America. We are presently working on the expansion of this service to more key hubs in our network,” said Christian Draeger, Star Alliance vice-president, Customer Experience.
Toronto is the 13th biggest Star Alliance transfer hub world-wide, with more than 400,000 passengers connecting from one Star Alliance carrier to another each year.
In addition to home carrier Air Canada, the following Star Alliance member carriers serve Toronto: Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines and United. Together they offer more than 6,000 flights per week connecting Toronto to 159 destinations in 59 countries.
“Connection Service helps enhance the airport experience for our customers travelling on Star Alliance itineraries by streamlining the behind-the-scenes processing when handling tight connections which may arise. This further strengthens the position of our Toronto Pearson global hub offering convenient connections to almost anywhere in the world,” said Benjamin Smith, president, Airlines and Chief Operating Officer at Air Canada.
