Mark Schwab appointed new Star Alliance CEO

 The Chief Executive Board of Star Alliance, of which SAS is a member, has appointed Mark Schwab to head the Star Alliance central organisation, based in Frankfurt, Germany as its new Chief Executive.

Schwab comes from Star Alliance member United where he was responsible for the company’s alliances as Senior Vice President Alliances. In this capacity he also served as a member of Star Alliance’s Management Board. He succeeds Jaan Albrecht, who was appointed as CEO of Austrian Airlines on November 1, 2011.

“With Mark Schwab we have secured an internationally renowned airline executive, who has all the qualifications required to lead our alliance into the next chapter of its success story,” said Rob Fyfe, Chief Executive of Air New Zealand and Chairman of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board.

“This appointment follows a worldwide search resulting in the comfortable situation of having several high calibre candidates to choose from. Mark convinced us with his vast industry know-how and his tremendous international experience. Having served our business in several executive positions across the globe gives him that specific background that we need for this challenging position”.

Mark Schwab held numerous executive positions in the airline industry at United Airlines, US Airways and American Airlines. He began his aviation career in 1975 with Pan American World Airways in Rio de Janeiro. As a global citizen he spent most of his career outside his home country, the United States of America. Schwab headed organisations in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Being fluent in Portuguese and in Spanish language he holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin American affairs from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

Mark Schwab is married and has two daughters.

The Star Alliance Services GmbH, based in Frankfurt, Germany, serves as the central organisation of the world’s most experienced airline alliance. It coordinates the projects and activities of its 28 member airlines, aiming at improving the seamless service experience for its international customers when travelling on any of their more than 21.000 daily flights as well as achieving synergies beyond the members’ individual capabilities on a global scale.For more information, please contact:
StarAlliancePress Office                                                                                                                                                             
Tel: +49 69 96375 183                                                                     ��                                                                                                                  
Email: mediarelations@staralliance.com                                                                         
www.staralliance.comAbout Star Alliance:
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, British Midland International, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Avianca-TACA, Copa Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 21,000 daily flights to 1,290 airports in 189 countries.