Lufthansa Group is one of the largest participants in Star Alliance, and one of the largest ways to get around Europe and from Europe. After Air India and Singapore Airlines signing off on an understanding to cooperate on commercial matters and loyalty a month ago, the Air India commercial team is now sealing deals in Europe.
Air India and the Lufthansa Group sign a commercial cooperation framework agreement
Air India and Lufthansa Group have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), establishing the framework for a joint business agreement between Air India’s and Lufthansa Group’s carriers and subsidiaries, including Air India Express, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), and other affiliated airlines.
Building on their existing codeshare agreements and shared membership in Star Alliance, this MoU will enable the carriers to mutually explore ways to boost connectivity between India and major European markets with the goal of offering travellers more connections around the world on a single ticket.
The MoU – signed by Air India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Campbell Wilson, and Lufthansa Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Carsten Spohr – is intended to leverage opportunities unlocked by the recent conclusion of the landmark India-European Union Free Trade Agreement.
Subject to requisite regulatory and anti-trust approvals, the carriers intend to collaborate across multiple strategic areas, including coordinated route planning and flight schedules in specific markets to enhance customer convenience and connectivity, as well as joint sales, marketing, and distribution initiatives. Further cooperation would encompass joint development and coordination to improve customer experiences across frequent flyer programmes, IT infrastructure, customer journey, quality assurance, and other mutually beneficial initiatives, to enhance the ease of travel for our customers.
The MoU initially focuses on increasing passenger traffic flows between Air India’s home market of India and Lufthansa Group’s core Home Market region, encompassing Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland. It also proposes to include the rest of Europe and the Indian subcontinent, creating opportunities for future expansion. The precise scope, including specific routes and markets, will be finalised upon the formation of a comprehensive joint business agreement, subject to regulatory approvals.
Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Chief Executive Officer of the Lufthansa Group, said:
Today’s agreement with our long-standing Star Alliance partner, Air India, is a strong signal of our mutual determination to open a new chapter in aviation between the EU and India, following the landmark trade agreement between the two economic regions. Together with Air India, we will strengthen our access to the aviation market with the highest growth rates worldwide. The Lufthansa Group is already the most successful and most popular European airline group among customers in India. In the future, we will contribute to deepening economic and cultural relations between India and Europe with even more connections. With our new long-haul aircraft and Lufthansa Allegris and SWISS Senses on board, we are offering a significantly improved premium travel experience in all classes on more and more routes, including to India.
Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Air India, said:
This milestone in our deepening relationship with the Lufthansa Group is great news for travellers and enterprises alike between India and Europe. 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. This would unlock greater value for our common customers and respective shareholders, and we look forward to progressing these initiatives together with the Lufthansa Group.
Air India and Lufthansa Group carriers currently code-share on 145 routes across 15 Indian and 29 European cities and 20 countries. In February 2025, Air India and the Lufthansa Group announced the expansion of codeshare agreements with Air India, Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines.
Since its privatisation in 2022, Air India has significantly expanded its global alliance network. Today, the airline maintains 24 codeshare partnerships and nearly 100 interline agreements with leading carriers worldwide, providing seamless access for Air India customers to over 800 destinations worldwide.
The Lufthansa Group is the fourth-largest airline group in the world by revenue and fleet size. It operates five national airlines in key European markets, other private travel-oriented airlines, Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Technik, and over 300 subsidiaries and affiliated companies under the Lufthansa Group brand. Carrying 131+ million passengers in 2024, it offers its customers access to the largest network on the continent.
Why is this important?
This agreement is a stepping stone towards more definitive steps, such as cooperating via JVs on various routes to metal-neutral partnerships and carving out better benefits for the elite of each airline beyond the Star Alliance framework. Of course, such a move might require the blessings of the Competition authorities in all the countries where both airlines operate, as well as in any others where they operate.
Bottomline
Air India and the Lufthansa Group are aiming to deepen their partnership in the coming days. They’ve just signed on a commercial cooperation framework, the outcome of which includes cooperation on routes, ticket sales, product planning and execution and loyalty programme amongst others.
What do you think of the cooperation agreement between the two carriers?
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