All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan's largest airline, and Lufthansa Cargo AG, one of the world´s leading air cargo carriers, have launched an innovative air cargo joint venture on Japan-Europe routes. Since 1 December, both airlines have commenced joint sales of shipments on flights from Japan to Europe.

On 2 December the first shipment sent by forwarder Schenker-Seino Co. Ltd and booked via Lufthansa Cargo was transported by ANA on flight number NH 277 from Tokyo to London. It consisted of three pieces of general cargo and weighed 153 kilograms. Due to the direct flight of ANA between the two cities, the customer was now able to take receipt of his shipment approximately 16 hours earlier than by choosing the transfer connection via Frankfurt.

On the same day the Lufthansa Cargo freighter flight LH 8385 carried the first shipment booked through ANA. The load weighed 1.8 tonnes. By accessing cargo capacities on freighter aircraft, it is now possible for ANA customers to send big volume freight and cargo that may only be transported on freighters, directly from Tokyo to Frankfurt.

The joint venture benefits customers by providing a larger and faster network with more direct flights, more destinations and more frequencies. By moving under one roof at major stations, such as the airports Narita and Nagoya in Japan and Dusseldorf and Frankfurt in Germany, customers can enjoy the services of both airlines at a single location.

Akira Okada, ANA Cargo CEO, said: I am delighted that we have implemented the world's first cargo joint venture of this kind. 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. Customers will derive further advantages from enhanced quality and improved flexibility. Timesaving will be an additional benefit, with customers having only one location for export drop-off and import delivery. With the joint venture, both airlines will boost their position in global competition and make even better use of their aircraft capacities, underlines Okada.

Peter Gerber, Lufthansa Cargo Chairman and CEO, said: This cooperation marks a great step for our customers. They will benefit from a more attractive network. We are looking forward to intensifying our cooperation with ANA, which sets a further milestone in bringing the economies of Japan and Europe closer together.

ANA received antitrust immunity, i. e. approval for the joint venture from the Japanese Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport, beginning of September 2014 after filing for it in spring. In addition, the joint venture was positively assessed by external counsel for compliance with relevant EU antitrust regulations.