All Nippon Airways (ANA) is moving closer to a potential cargo alliance spanning the globe. Less than three months after announcing a joint venture with Lufthansa Cargo, the Japanese carrier unveiled an agreement with United Airlines to build a strategic partnership across the Pacific.
On November 21, ANA filed an application with the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for antitrust immunity for its planned co-operation with the US airline. This seeks to clear the way for a joint venture designed to enable the pair to “jointly manage transpacific air cargo business activities including scheduling, pricing and sales,” according a stock market disclosure by ANA which was echoed in a statement issued by United Cargo.
“This will allow the carriers to offer customers a greater selection of routings and cargo space along with a wider range of service options,” United declared. For shippers, this will translate into a better offering of routings, cargo space and more service options, the US airline added.
As neither carrier operates freighter aircraft across the Pacific, there appears to be little scope for scheduling in terms of cargo, other than timing options through the combined schedules of the two airline’s passenger flights. Still, the planned venture would go significantly beyond existing cargo partnerships involving US and Asian airlines. Carrier alignments across the Pacific have not extended beyond interlining, the adoption of common product definitions and some mutual sales representation and joint handling.
ANA and United have yet to flesh out the details of their planned co-operation and how these will unfold. To some extent, ANA management will be tempted to apply the formula adopted for its venture with Lufthansa, although there are marked differences in the cargo operations of its German and the US partners.
Having received the blessing from the Japanese antitrust authorities, the ANA-Lufthansa venture kicked in on December 1 with joint sales activities from Japan to Europe. The first such shipment, booked on the German carrier, moved on an ANA flight from Tokyo to London.
Joint sales from Europe to Japan will commence at an unspecified date in 2015.
“From now on, we will benefit our customers with offering the best option from all the applicable flights to meet various needs, as well as the faster and more frequent connections in Europe (including RFS), regardless of which AWBs of both carriers used for the booking,” Lufthansa declared.
“This partnership will improve the level of service offered to customers by generating a greater selection of routings and a wider range of service options,” said Akira Okada, CEO of ANA Cargo.
“With the joint venture, both airlines will boost their position in global competition and make even better use of their aircraft capacities,” he added.
The first ANA shipment moved on a Lufthansa flight involved one of the German airline’s freighters, signalling the availability of main deck space in their venture, an option that does not exist for the ANA-United axis. The US partner has no all-cargo aircraft in its line-up. ANA runs a fleet of ten B767 freighters, but these operate in a regional network centered on a dedicated hub in Okinawa.
At some airports (notably Tokyo Narita and Nagoya in Japan and Dusseldorf and Frankfurt in Germany), ANA and Lufthansa operate under one roof.
For Lufthansa, the tie-up with ANA marks another stage in the development of alignments with other carriers on the cargo side. The German airline was a member of the WOW alliance, comprising of Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines. The venture, which focused primarily on interline activities, failed to gain traction and petered out. Subsequently Lufthansa Cargo concentrated on developing synergies with fellow European carriers in the Lufthansa Group, chiefly Austrian Airlines and Swiss WorldCargo. However, management obviously sees a need for partnerships with carriers that extend the network into markets not reached by the Lufthansa group.
The company has made it clear that it is seeking at least one more strategic partnership. The fact that ANA as well as United are members of the Star alliance, which also includes Lufthansa, has fuelled speculation that United is the most likely partner for the German carrier. Moreover, the entry of United Cargo would create a network of global reach covering all major trade lanes.
A spokesman for Lufthansa Cargo said that management intends to unveil a second partnership in the coming year, but did not disclose the identity of the future ally.
By Ian Putzger
Air Freight Correspondent | Toronto