Lufthansa, Air China to finalise JV this month-sources

Lufthansa plans to sign a joint venture contract with Air China later this month, rounding off over 2 years of negotiations, 2 people familiar with the matter said. The firms signed an agreement in principle in July 2014 to work towards a joint venture allowing them to share revenue on certain routes by selling tickets for each others' flights. "We are on the home stretch. We are confident that we will have this squared away soon," a spokesman for Lufthansa said, while declining to say when a deal would be signed. When Lufthansa signed the accord in principle in July 2014 the carrier said it hoped the deal would improve its position in China. Lufthansa CE Carsten Spohr warned at the time that it could take until 2016 before the joint venture was fully up and running due to the time needed for antitrust approval. <br/>