Lufthansa Cargo and ANA obtain antitrust immunity for joint venture

Lufthansa Cargo and ANA All Nippon Airways will launch a strategic air cargo joint venture on routes between Japan and Europe and vice versa. This is the first worldwide cargo joint venture of its kind. ANA has received antitrust immunity, i. e. approval for the joint venture from the Japanese Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport after filing for it in spring 2014. In addition, the joint venture has been positively assessed by external counsel for compliance with relevant EU antitrust regulations.

Now ANA and Lufthansa Cargo can jointly manage activities covered by the joint venture including network planning, pricing, sales and handling on all routes between Japan and Europe and vice versa. Based on a joint contract which shall be signed in the next weeks, the two carriers aim to introduce the joint approach on shipments originating from Japan to Europe in winter 2014/2015 and for shipments from Europe to Japan mid-2015.

The joint venture will benefit customers by generating a greater selection of routings and a wider range of service options. Customers will especially profit from a larger and faster network with more direct flights, more destinations and more frequencies. By their moving under one roof at major stations, such as the airports Narita and Nagoya in Japan and Dusseldorf and Frankfurt in Germany, customers will enjoy the services of both airlines at a single location.

On the passenger side Lufthansa and ANA build on a longstanding relationship as both companies are part of the Star Alliance network, the leading global airline network. Additionally, Lufthansa and ANA also launched a joint venture in 2012 on routes between Japan and Europe, allowing the two carriers to bring substantial benefits to passengers by creating a more efficient and comprehensive service across their networks. Complementary, with this new cargo joint venture, ANA Group and Lufthansa Group will bring their customers even more new values on air transportation services.