Air China and Lufthansa Group Strengthen Partnership

During German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel's state visit to China, Song Zhiyong , President & Executive Director of Air China and Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing to expand the scope of the strategic partnership between the two companies.

In the summer season of 2014, Air China and Lufthansa have a joint capacity input of 81 flights per week on the Sino-German routes. As of today, Air China and Lufthansa have been codesharing on all their flights between China and Germany. Meanwhile, with the domestic and third-country codeshare, Air China and Lufthansa are able to expand network access to 9 points in China and Germany respectively as well as destinations in Zurich, Spain and Brazil, etc.

The new partnership agreement should come into force in two phases as early as the start of the winter flight timetable in late October 2014.

Both companies also signed a memorandum of understanding to expand collaboration in the area of maintenance, repair and overhaul services.

"We are delighted that, together with Air China, we will be able to offer our customers, particularly those in Europe and China, even better flight connections and services in the future," said Mr. Carsten Spohr . "Thanks to strategic partnerships with leading airlines, the Lufthansa Group airlines now connect the world's four largest economies even better."