Lufthansa boss calls Cathay Pacific the ‘perfect partner’

Germany’s national airline has praised Cathay Pacific as the “perfect” partner with the carrier’s chief hinting at more scope for business deals with Hong Kong’s flagship carrier. Lufthansa talked up its expanded relationship with Cathay Pacific on air cargo services, and more recently, passenger flights. The mutual tie up between the pair was just the beginning, according to the German airline’s CE Carsten Spohr. His airline’s ties to Cathay Pacific would become more important as it was similar to one with the Hong Kong carrier’s major shareholder Air China, he said. Spohr said however he was not interested in buying a stake in Cathay Pacific, stating he was more interested in investing in airlines at home in Europe. “Cathay Pacific is the perfect fit for Lufthansa in many ways. It is an airline focused on premium, it is focused on sustainability, and not just around for one or two years,” Spohr said. Doubling down on the China market, Spohr added: “We are very close to Air China with our joint venture, obviously there is a link between Cathay and Air China as well, so we are establishing more of a trilateral relationship.” As airlines seek new partnerships outside of traditional airline alliances to find alternatives to stay competitive, Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa initially struck a worldwide agreement to cooperate on cargo flights between Asia and Europe, and led to cooperation on flights between Europe, Hong Kong and Australia.<br/>