Lufthansa, JetBlue Airways seek code-share pact

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the flag-carrier airline of Germany, is seeking approval to enter into a code-share agreement with JetBlue Airways, the budget airline based in New York, the United States. Lufthansa had, in 2008, obtained a minority stake of 19 percent in JetBlue Airways by paying $300 million.

A code-share pact will enable Lufthansa to market JetBlue Airways’ flights as its own and thus help Lufthansa widen its operations at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, a key gateway in the United States, according to a report in the online edition of Financial Times.

JetBlue Airways’ home airport is John F Kennedy International Airport. JetBlue is also one of the largest airline operators at JFK – which itself is one of the top international airports in the world – with a large number of takeoff and landing slots.

In 2008, JetBlue Airways had opened a state-of-the-art terminal at John F Kennedy International Airport.

The website www.ft.com said that the proposed agreement may also help JetBlue Airways encourage more passengers from the United States to opt for JetBlue’s flights on the trans-Atlantic route.

Both Lufthansa and JetBlue Airways are filing their request for the code-share deal to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).

The system of “code-share” – called thus for the two-letter code that is used to identify the carrier operating a given service – began in the 1980s.

The code-sharing is mainly intended to help those passengers who have to switch carriers during a trans-continental flights and thus likely to miss connections and lose baggage.

Lufthansa, the second biggest carrier in Europe, currently has a joint venture with United Airlines, a major airline based in Chicago, the United Sates, and a subsidiary UAL Corporation.

United Airlines, besides having a worldwide network, has strong hubs in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and Denver.

On its part, the domestic airline JetBlue Airways has been trying to attract passengers with offers such as low-priced tickets and live in-flight television.