How Narita’s new South Wing became the transfer-friendly Star of the East.

As airports expand and security screenings remain severe, time-consuming transfers between terminals often swallow your layover, your luggage — or, worst of all, your connecting flight. That’s why, last year, Star Alliance began eliminating the need for them. It started in Tokyo, where the CEOs of ANA, Air Canada, SwissAir, Thai, Lufthansa, Asiana, Austrian, Scandinavia, Singapore and United cut the ribbon on the new South Wing of Tokyo’s Narita Airport — the world’s first alliance-dedicated terminal. Since then, Oneworld has launched its own terminal at Narita, and others have followed suit in Madrid, Seoul, Paris and Munich.

All it takes is one breezy passage through the South Wing to see why it’s such a popular trend. Between its futuristic white-on-white décor, member planes in full view through enormous plate-glass windows and equal access to three lounges, the light-filled Narita terminal makes a compelling case for the global village. Thanks to 126 self-serve kiosks, check-in lines are nonexistent. No walk from the high-tech baggage counter to any gate lasts more than…

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