Air India and Lufthansa Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), establishing the framework for a joint business agreement.
The agreement is largely designed to capitalise on new growth opportunities arising from the recently concluded free-trade agreement between India and the European Union (EU).
The MoU was signed by Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson and Lufthansa Group chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr.
“As Air India continues to expand its global footprint with a fast-modernising fleet and transformed product and service offerings, this framework enables us to explore closer cooperation on multiple fronts to meet the growing trade, commerce, and people-to-people ties between our respective regions," said Wilson.
“Together with Air India, we will strengthen our access to the aviation market with the highest growth rates worldwide,” said Spohr.
The agreement expands on its existing codeshare partnerships and shared membership in Star Alliance with the intention of exploring opportunities to boost connectivity between India and major European markets.
The carriers intend to collaborate across multiple areas, including coordinated route planning and flight schedules in specific markets, as well as joint sales, marketing and distribution initiatives.
Further cooperation could extend to areas such as frequent flyer programmes, IT infrastructure, and other customer experience enhancements.
Currently, the Lufthansa Group airlines and Air India offer codeshare flights on 146 routes to 22 countries. The joint network comprises 15 Indian and 27 European destinations.
In other news, Air India has appointed Partha Ghosh into the new role as advisor to the CEO, reporting directly to Wilson. He previously served as global head of communications at the airline for over two years.
Ghosh has also held senior communications roles at Samsung after joining the company in 2014. Prior to this, he served as a senior editor at New Delhi-based outlet The Economic Times.