Lufthansa ends codesharing with Turkish Airlines. A full rift would mean new strategies for each

The recent decision by Lufthansa to end its codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines (THY) came as a surprise to most observers. Talks between the two carriers over the past 18 months had been seeking closer co-operation, a prospect that had even been discussed by the respective heads of government of Germany and Turkey.

However, the strong growth of THY in Germany has led to imbalances in their relationship. In particular, THY now has a strong presence in secondary German cities away from Lufthansa's Frankfurt and Munich strongholds. This has undermined Lufthansa's strategy of funnelling Asia-bound traffic from secondary markets via its hubs as THY increasingly offers an alternative connection via Istanbul.

With fares that Lufthansa cannot match, one of the world's biggest networks and a product that continues to win plaudits, THY has become a formidable competitor to Lufthansa and its group companies in spite of also being a Star Alliance partner.