New commercial partnerships forged between Etihad and Lufthansa groups

At a press conference in Dubai on February 1, James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group President and Chief Executive Officer, and Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, announced plans aimed at broadening the commercial partnership between the two airline giants.
A US$100 million global catering contract has been agreed and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed to cooperate in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul.
According to James Hogan, “Partnerships are at the heart of our strategy and remain fundamental for us to compete effectively and efficiently in a complex and competitive global market.
“Our collaboration with one of the aviation industry’s most established and recognized brands is undoubtedly the most significant non-equity partnership with an airline we have ever announced.
“This partnership is the platform for a much wider strategic collaboration between our two organizations. It demonstrates the commitment of the Etihad Aviation Group Board and Abu Dhabi to our European growth strategy.”
Carsten Spohr said: “We welcome the opportunity to strengthen our cooperation with the Etihad Aviation Group. Together we can create added value for our customers and shareholders. Partnering with the Etihad Aviation Group fits perfectly with the Lufthansa Group’s global strategy for our passenger airlines and service companies.”
The four-year catering contract involves Lufthansa’s LSG Sky Chefs provide catering services to Etihad Airways in 16 cities across Europe, Asia and the Americas, making LSG the largest provider of catering services to the UAE’s flag-carrying airline, outside Abu Dhabi.
An MoU was also signed between Etihad Aviation Group and Lufthansa Technik (LHT) to examine the potential to cooperate in maintenance, repair and overhaul services across Etihad Airways and its airline equity partners, together with opportunities for synergies with Etihad Airways Engineering.
Etihad Airways and Lufthansa are also investigating further cooperation in other areas, including freight operations, procurement and passenger services to improve their competitive offering in Europe and across the world.