ANA awarded antitrust immunity for JV with Lufthansa

ANA and Lufthansa announced (01-Jun-2011) they are launching a strategic JV on Japan-Europe routes after ANA received antitrust immunity (ATI) approval from Japan's MLIT. The carriers became the first airlines to receive clearance for Asian-European ATI. This latest agreement between the two Star Alliance members follows the launch of a similar JV between ANA and United Airlines on trans-Pacific routes in Apr-2011. The carrier's stated the JV will "improve the level of service offered to passengers by allowing ANA and Lufthansa to work together on schedule coordination and joint product sales. Customers will benefit from seamless transfers and better connections". The carriers aim to introduce the new JV within the 2011 winter timetable. The Asian market is a growth market for Lufthansa and represents around 20% of its revenue, with Japan alone contributing 4% of revenue (Dow Jones, 01-Jun-2011). The carrier has been adding capacity to Asia and will deploy A380 equipment on Frankfurt-Singapore services from 30-Oct-2011 with A380 equipment also being deployed on Beijing and Tokyo services. The carrier however noted that impact of the Japan earthquake, stating "it will take time to see how big the effect in Japan is" and how long it will take for business and confidence to recover, which will affect demand for travel. [more]