Freight United Airlines and Lufthansa launch Cargo Joint Venture

Effective May 3, the two carriers jointly manage sales and booking of standard and express shipments on routes between Europe and the U.S. using the new joint venture framework. Starting with selected routings from the U.S., Italy, Great Britain, Ireland and Germany, the carriers will expand the geographical scope in the coming months and plan to include additional products and features in the future.

“The joint venture was designed to provide enhanced value to our customers,” said Peter Gerber, Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa Cargo. “The combination of the two strong networks offers new routing options. The co-location of our warehouses, in Munich for example, is an additional benefit, with customers needing only one location for export drop-off and import delivery. Aligned processes and quicker transfers between separate warehouses also lead to streamlined transport times,” Gerber continued.

Lufthansa Cargo operates a fleet of twelve McDonnell Douglas MD-11F and five Boeing 777F in an international network. United Airlines doesn’t operate dedicated freighter aircraft. The airline offers belly freight solutions in its passenger aircraft network. Both carriers are founding members of the Star Alliance and have formed a joint venture for the passenger operations together with Air Canada.