German
airline Lufthansa and Air China said on Tuesday they had signed a deal
to jointly operate all the groups’ connections between Europe and China.
“The
Chinese aviation market is one of the most important growth markets
worldwide. We want to profit from this growth together,” Lufthansa chief
executive Carsten Spohr said in a statement.
SOURCE:-today.ng
The Chinese flag
carrier and Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline, have had a joint
venture in their sights since signing a memorandum of understanding in
2014.
The move is “another major step of Air China’s globalisation strategy,” chairman Cai Jianjiang said.
Added
to Lufthansa’s other co-operations, including with Japan’s ANA and
Singapore Airlines in Asia, and United Airlines and Air Canada in north
America, the joint venture means around half of the German giant’s
long-haul flights are now covered by such agreements.
The two
groups plan to coordinate their schedules, offer common fares and
improve their offers to corporate clients and frequent flyers under the
arrangement.
As well as Lufthansa itself, the deal covers subsidiaries Austrian Airlines and Swiss International Airlines.
Passengers travelling into Europe from China will be able to connect
through the Lufthansa group’s hubs in Frankfurt, Zurich and Vienna,
while the two firms promised “additional routes in China” with Air China
and via code-sharing for those travelling in the other direction.
Flights under the joint venture scheme are scheduled to begin with the 2017 summer timetable, the statement said.
Lufthansa
in July cut profit targets for the year after a spate of terror attacks
in Europe and geopolitical uncertainty cut into bookings.
The
group now expects to do worse in 2016 than in 2015, with preliminary
figures showing sales down two percent between January and June compared
with the same period last year.
In 2015, the German carrier
suffered a blow to its reputation after a co-pilot deliberately crashed a
plane from subsidiary Germanwings with 149 other people on board into
the French Alps.
Lufthansa has also weathered a series of strikes
by pilots and cabin crew as it seeks to bring down costs in the face of
cut-price competition from European rivals including EasyJet and
Ryanair.
