Member companies of Star Alliance now operate 420 weekly flights to 20 Chinese mainland cities, ranking first among all world alliances, sources said on Monday.

All member companies increased investment in China in 2005. There are nine airline companies already operating flights to the Chinese mainland, and the number is expected to grow next year.

The flight number increased 9.7 percent and the capacity grew 10 percent compared with the previous year.

Star Alliance was established in 1997, the first aviation alliance in the world. Its current members included Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways.

Source: Xinhua