Air India, Lufthansa Group plan joint biz agreement to deepen collaboration

Air India and the Lufthansa Group plan to enter into a joint business agreement wherein the two sides will collaborate on multiple strategic areas, including coordinated route planning and flight schedules in specific markets.

On Tuesday, both sides entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a framework for a joint business agreement, which will cover Air India, Air India Express, as well as Lufthansa Group carriers and subsidiaries. Those include Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and other affiliated airlines.

The proposed deeper collaboration with Germany's Lufthansa Group is also aimed at tapping opportunities from the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement that was finalised in January.

"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 for greater customer convenience and enhanced connectivity, as well as joint sales, marketing and distribution initiatives.

"Further cooperation would encompass the joint development and coordination for improved customer experiences in areas such as frequent flyer programmes, IT infrastructure - customer journey, quality assurance, and other mutually beneficial initiatives - to enhance the ease of travel for our customers," Air India said in a release on Tuesday.

The MoU would initially focus on increasing passenger traffic flows between India and Lufthansa Group's core home market region, encompassing Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland.

They would also look to include the rest of Europe and the Indian subcontinent.

Air India said the precise scope, including specific routes and markets, would be finalised upon the formation of a comprehensive joint business agreement, subject to regulatory approvals.

Currently, Air India and Lufthansa Group carriers have codeshare pacts for 145 routes across 15 Indian, 29 European cities and 20 countries. In February 2025, the two sides also announced the expansion of the codeshare agreements between Air India, Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines.

Tata Group-owned Air India has 24 codeshare partnerships and nearly100 interline agreements with various carriers.

A codeshare partnership allows passengers to travel on a single ticket on different flights.

Lufthansa Group is the fourth-largest airline group in the world in terms of 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, according to the release.

In the midst of implementing an ambitious transformation plan, Air India has been looking to strengthen its presence in domestic and international segments. In January this year, the airline and Singapore Airlines (SIA) inked a commercial cooperation framework agreement to deepen their existing partnership.

SIA owns a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India.