SQ's Cheong Choong Kong.Lufthansa (LH) has stressed it will continue to work closely with Thai International Airways (TG) in developing markets to and from Thailand, despite its new strategic alliance with Singapore Airlines (SQ).
The SQ-LH alliance will see LH using Singapore as a primary southeast Asian and Australasian hub, and gives SQ Frankfurt as its continental European hub.
With the formation of this new alliance, SQ's Global Excellence alliance with Swissair and Delta Air Lines has been dissolved, although SQ will continue to work closely with these airlines in areas that do not conflict with its alliance with LH.
The LH-SQ strategic alliance covers codesharing, network and schedule development, frequent flyer programmes, product development, ground-handling, customer service, information technology and cargo operations.
From April 1998, the two airlines' frequencies between Singapore and Frankfurt will be increased from the present 14 weekly flights to 20. From July 1998, the two airlines will codeshare on flights between Singapore and Frankfurt, and on services including SQ's Frankfurt-New York service.
The Memorandum of Understanding for this alliance was signed in Singapore by SQ deputy chairman and chief executive Cheong Choong Kong and LH chairman and chief executive officer Juergen Weber.
Choong said the alliance, which took a year to finalise, will improve profitability for the airlines from routing synergies and economies of scale. "This (alliance) is special. SQ does not enter into an alliance or withdraw from an alliance lightly."