Lufthansa has signed a commercial alliance with French regional airline Air Littoral, further strengthening its position in the French market.
The deal ends the German flag carrier's hunt for a suitable French partner to expand its services to southern Europe. This will be done through Air Littoral's increasing route network from its Montpellier and Nice "mini-hubs". The accord provides what Frederick Reid, president and chief operating officer of Lufthansa, describes as a "perfect synergy" in terms of strategy and fleet commonality.
The move follows British Airways' purchase of bankrupt French airline Air Liberté in January, which was in addition to its alliance with TAT European Airlines.
Brit Air has also recently signed a wide-ranging deal with Air France, leaving Regional Airlines as the only remaining French regional with no accord with a major European airline.
At present the agreement, which takes effect on 1 July, covers only shared flight codes, common sales and marketing programmes and harmonisation of frequent-flyer programmes. Reid says, however, that a "much more extensive" alliance with Air Littoral is foreseen in the future, which could lead to Lufthansa eventually taking up to a 15% stake in the French regional. "We are delighted to have gained such a strong foothold in the French market-we are extremely well matched culturally and structurally," he says.
Air Littoral has a long-standing relationship with Air France under which its aircraft can be chartered for use on Air France domestic routes. The arrangement has provided at least 30% of Air Littoral's revenues, but its president Marc Dufour says that he foresees "no problems" if Air France pulls out of the deal. "We have been growing at 25% a year for the last five years, so the loss of Air France would amount to just one year of growth."
Lufthansa has other European partners, including Augsburg Airways, Contact Air, Tyrolean and Air Dolomiti. Since full European air-transport liberalisation on 1 April, it has also operated between Bordeaux and Marseille.
Source: Flight International
