In an interesting development, Lufthansa is interesting in strengthening ties with Air India to form strategic partnerships for better opportunities in the future. According to Times of India, Lufthansa Group Chairman and CEO, Carsten Spohr was in India recently and had a discussion with Tata Sons and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran and Singapore Airlines (SIA) CEO Goh Choon Phong about possible synergies in the future.
Air India is leaving no stone unturned with its plans for emerging as global airline, from launching five-fold plan Vihaan AI to digitizing and optimizing operations and tackling all problems head-on, sources claim that Air India’s market vibe is very positive. Lufthansa’s Spohr is also optimistic about Air India’s revival as a private carrier and feels that with SIA as a partner for operations in the East and with a possible partnership with Lufthansa in the West, it could really help everyone involved in the collaboration.
Besides, with Air India fleet expansion plans on the cards with addition of 500 aircraft over the next 10 years, the airline will need a robust MRO partner for the crew-training and MRO services of the new as well as existing fleet. Spohr feels Lufthansa and Air India can mutually benefit from this deal with Lufthansa offerings its world-class training and engineering services.
Spohr hopes that with Air India expanding its capacity across Europe, Lufthansa can further aid the airline in expanding its presence in deeper pockets of Europe using its extensive partnership network. He also stressed on the need for Indian carriers to reclaim the international market that is mostly dominated by Middle Eastern carriers taking away a large chunk of passenger traffic to US and UK.