Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa have officially launched their joint-venture partnership, which covers flights by the two carriers between Singapore, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium.
The launch comes nearly two years after the announcement was first made in November 2015, and 10 months since the partnership gained Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) approval last December.
Under the agreement, Singapore Airlines and subsidiary Silkair, as well as Lufthansa and its subsidiaries Swiss and Austrian Airlines, will allow customers to “choose from a wider range of travel itineraries and fare products” that the participating airlines will be progressively rolling out.
Meanwhile from a business standpoint, revenue sharing across all flights between Singapore and Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich operated by Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Swiss has also been introduced.
“We are pleased to launch our joint venture with Lufthansa Group, which has provided a strong foundation for us to work together to enable more flight frequency and enhanced travel options for customers of both airline groups,” said Tan Kai Ping, Singapore Airlines’ senior vice president of marketing planning.
Both carriers have been enhancing their operations between Europe and Asia in recent months. Singapore Airlines’ Munich service, for instance, became an all-A350 operation in August.
Lufthansa, meanwhile, is resurrecting its own Munich-Singapore service in summer 2018, which will also be operated by its A350. The airline has also recently begun flying its A350 to Hong Kong from Munich, and will be deploying its A380 on the route in March. Beijing will also be getting the A380 on Lufthansa’s service from Munich next March.
“With the launch of this joint venture, the two premium airline groups are jointly able to optimise the produce offerings and high-quality services in a very competitive market throughout Europe, Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific,” said Dieter Vranckx, Lufthansa’s vice president of sales for Asia Pacific. “We are very proud to team up with Singapore Airlines, a reputable and reliable high-end partner, giving our customers greater choices.”
