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From today's New York Times
PARIS — Lufthansa was expected to receive approval Monday from American regulators to form a ticketing partnership with JetBlue Airways, the U.S. low-fare airline in which the German carrier holds a minority stake, people with knowledge of the agreement said.
The anticipated move, which would allow both airlines to sell seats on each others’ flights as their own, would mark the first commercial arrangement between the two carriers since Lufthansa invested $300 million in JetBlue in early 2008.
While deepening Lufthansa’s presence in the U.S. market, the “code-share†agreement would also allow JetBlue to market flights to European destinations for the first time. The people with knowledge of the deal asked not to be identified because the agreement had not yet been formally announced.
Boris Ogursky, a spokesman for Lufthansa, said Monday that the two airlines were “evaluating the possibility of a customer-oriented cooperation†but declined to comment further. Spokespeople for JetBlue could not immediately be reached.
Lufthansa flies direct to more than 17 cities in the United States, and has four daily flights from Germany to JetBlue’s base at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. Swiss International Air Lines, a Lufthansa subsidiary, also operates several direct flights to J.F.K. and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
JetBlue flies to more than 60 destinations in the United States, the Caribbean and Central America.
The U.S. Department of Transportation in July approved a transatlantic joint venture among Lufthansa, Continental Airlines, United Air Lines and Air Canada. The approval came as part of a deal that granted antitrust immunity to Continental to join the Star Alliance of airlines.
News of the anticipated Lufthansa deal with JetBlue was first reported by the Financial Times.
PARIS — Lufthansa was expected to receive approval Monday from American regulators to form a ticketing partnership with JetBlue Airways, the U.S. low-fare airline in which the German carrier holds a minority stake, people with knowledge of the agreement said.
The anticipated move, which would allow both airlines to sell seats on each others’ flights as their own, would mark the first commercial arrangement between the two carriers since Lufthansa invested $300 million in JetBlue in early 2008.
While deepening Lufthansa’s presence in the U.S. market, the “code-share†agreement would also allow JetBlue to market flights to European destinations for the first time. The people with knowledge of the deal asked not to be identified because the agreement had not yet been formally announced.
Boris Ogursky, a spokesman for Lufthansa, said Monday that the two airlines were “evaluating the possibility of a customer-oriented cooperation†but declined to comment further. Spokespeople for JetBlue could not immediately be reached.
Lufthansa flies direct to more than 17 cities in the United States, and has four daily flights from Germany to JetBlue’s base at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. Swiss International Air Lines, a Lufthansa subsidiary, also operates several direct flights to J.F.K. and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
JetBlue flies to more than 60 destinations in the United States, the Caribbean and Central America.
The U.S. Department of Transportation in July approved a transatlantic joint venture among Lufthansa, Continental Airlines, United Air Lines and Air Canada. The approval came as part of a deal that granted antitrust immunity to Continental to join the Star Alliance of airlines.
News of the anticipated Lufthansa deal with JetBlue was first reported by the Financial Times.
