LUFTHANSA, AIR CHINA SIGN CODESHARE PACT
Lufthansa German Airlines has signed a passenger flight codesharing agreement with Air China that brings China's second-largest carrier closer to the Star Alliance.
Lufthansa and Air China also said they would expand cooperation between their cargo units, which have been jointly selling cargo capacity for almost a decade. Air China and Lufthansa plan to increase the number of cargo flights they operate jointly from seven to 14 in four years.
Though both carriers said the new codeshare agreement for passenger flights between China and Germany does not automatically mean Air China is planning to join Star, analysts see the move giving Star carriers an important link to a China market that is expected to boom following accession to the World Trade Organization.