Airlines
Air China and Lufthansa finalize joint venture
September 23rd 2016
Germany’s Lufthansa Group and Beijing’s Air China this week signed a long anticipated and wide- ranging partnership that will commence in the northern summer of next year. Read More » The joint venture allows the two Star Alliance heavyweights and Lufthansa subsidiaries, Austrian Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines, to jointly operate all services between Europe and China. The two airlines had signed a Memorandum of Understanding more than two years ago. Lufthansa has joint ventures with All Nippon Airways (ANA) on routes to Japan and with Singapore Airlines to Singapore.
“As the flag carrier, Air China is the ideal partner for the Lufthansa Group in the People’s Republic of China. This ground-breaking joint venture will fundamentally strengthen our competitive position on routes between Europe and China,” said Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “The Chinese aviation market is one of the most important growth markets worldwide. We want to profit from this growth with our Star Alliance partner, Air China,” he said. Air China chairman, Cai Jianjiang, said the partnership would allow his airline to expand its network in Europe.
Air China and the Lufthansa Group will offer common fares, modify corporate programs to improve the products available to corporate customers and optimise existing connections in frequent flyer programs.
