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Lufthansa-Shanghai Airlines code share closer
By Wang Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-03-10 10:27
European-based global aviation giant, Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa), said
that it is getting closer to completing negotiations with one of its Chinese
counterparts, Shanghai Airlines Co Ltd (Shanghai Airlines ), for a possible code-sharing
agreement and co-operation in other areas.
"Our talks with Shanghai Airlines (about possible code sharing) are in the
final stage. In our eyes, Shanghai Airlines is quite an accomplished regional
carrier and a good partner to work with as well," Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa's
vice-president of Strategy and Alliances, said.
Lufthansa already has a code sharing programme with Air China on Sino-German
flights. And the German flag carrier seems very keen to find more partners in
China to further expand business in the promising aviation market.
"We have smooth co-operation with Air China, and we would like to find more
local partners... The Chinese market is so big that it can, without doubt,
accommodate a lot of competitors and can offer quite a lot of opportunities for
further growth," Wolfgang Mayrhuber, chairman and chief executive officer of
Lufthansa, said.
Shanghai Airlines, a regional carrier based in East China, has submitted its
application to open long-distance international flights to Germany, a move
widely seen by many industrial insiders as a positive one that will help break
the monopoly on major international flights held by the three major Chinese
aviation groups, namely, Air China, China Eastern Airlines Co Ltd and China
Southern Airlines Co Ltd.
It is believed that the application will soon be approved
by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China
(CAAC), the country's aviation
watchdog.
But Shanghai Airlines has so far remained tight-lipped concerning its
application for flights to Germany or the potential code sharing partnership
with Lufthansa.
"We have nothing to say about the issue at the moment, since we are still
waiting for approval from authorities to go ahead," a Shanghai Airlines media
official told China Daily recently, on condition of anonymity.
About the possible co-operation with Lufthansa, the official also preferred
not to give any comment, because its application to fly to Germany is still on
the table at the CAAC.
However, Yang Yuanyuan, head of CAAC, seems very likely to endorse Shanghai
Airlines' application. "We will open the domestic aviation sector further by
giving smaller players the same rights as the three major groups," Yang has
said.
Lufthansa is also expecting closer ties with Air China, China's flag carrier
and the German carrier's traditional partner in China.
"Maybe in the future, we would be happy to see Air China joining the Star
Alliance, of which Lufthansa is one of the founding members," Spohr added.
South African Airlines joined the Star Alliance very recently, giving
Lufthansa access to that country.
Lufthansa is leading other European competitors in China in terms of flights
available in the local market.
The carrier has been operating 31 non-stop weekly flights between China and
Germany since February 1, when it opened its Guangzhou-Munich flights.
In addition to the new flights, Lufthansa offers flights from Hong Kong to
Frankfurt; Beijing to Frankfurt; Shanghai to Frankfurt; and Shanghai to
Munich.
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