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Green light for ANA-Lufthansa joint venture
[ September 3, 2014 // Chris ]All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Lufthansa Cargo have gained antitrust immunity for a Japan-Europe joint venture, claimed as the first of its kind in the cargo field. ANA has received approval for the joint venture from the Japanese Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transportand it has been positively assessed by external counsel for compliance with relevant EU antitrust regulations.
The two carriers will now start network planning, pricing, sales and handling on all routes between Japan and Europe and expect to sign a joint contract in the next few weeks. The joint service should be in operation from Japan to Europe in winter 2014/2015 and from Europe to Japan in mid-2015.
Lufthansa cargo says it will offer customers a wider selection of routings and service options with more direct flights, more destinations and more frequencies. Operations will move under one roof at major stations, such as the airports Narita and Nagoya in Japan and Dusseldorf and Frankfurt in Germany.
The alliance also covers passenger services; both carriers are part of the Star Alliance network.