On Feb. 17, the Lufthansa Group and Air India expanded their strategic partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This commercial cooperation between the two airlines will boost connectivity and create more consistent travel between India and Europe.
Lufthansa Group and Air India sign MoU
On Feb. 17 2026, the chairman of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Carsten Spohr, signed a MoU with Air India CEO Campbell Wilson.
This agreement will establish a framework for a future Joint Business Agreement (JBA) between the Lufthansa Group airlines as well as Air India and Air India Express, which would regulate the relationship between the two businesses. The MoU is intended to expand opportunities that were recently unlocked by the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement, that was signed on Jan. 27 2026.
The MoU initially focuses on increasing passenger traffic flows between Air India’s home market of India and Lufthansa Group’s core home market region, encompassing Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland.
The expansion into these markets builds on Lufthansa Group’s and Air India’s existing codeshare agreements and shared membership in Star Alliance, offering travellers more seamless experience across some of the world’s busiest routes on a single ticket. The airlines also plan to work together on frequent flyer programmes, IT infrastructure, the customer journey and quality assurance, subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals.
The precise scope, including specific routes and markets, will be finalised upon the formation of a comprehensive joint business agreement, subject to regulatory approvals.
A New Chapter between the EU and India
Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Chief Executive Officer of the Lufthansa Group, has said:
“Today’s agreement with our long-standing Star Alliance partner Air India is a strong signal of our mutual determination to open a new chapter in aviation between the EU and India following the landmark trade agreement between both economic regions.”
“Together with Air India, we will strengthen our access to the aviation market with the highest growth rates worldwide. The Lufthansa Group is already the most successful and most popular European airline group among customers in India.”
“In the future, we will contribute to deepening economic and cultural relations between India and Europe with even more connections. With our new long-haul aircraft and Lufthansa Allegris and SWISS Senses on board, we are offering a significantly improved premium travel experience in all classes on more and more routes, including to India.”
And Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Air India notes about the expansion:
“This milestone in our deepening relationship with the Lufthansa Group is great news for travellers and enterprises alike between India and Europe.”
“As Air India continues to expand its global footprint with a fast-modernising fleet and transformed product and service offerings, this framework enables us to explore closer cooperation on multiple fronts to meet the growing trade, commerce, and people-to-people ties between our respective regions.”
“This would unlock greater value for our common customers and respective shareholders, and we look forward to progressing these initiatives together with the Lufthansa Group.”
Existing Codeshare Agreements
Air India and Lufthansa Group carriers currently codeshare on 145 routes across 15 Indian and 29 European cities and 20 countries. In February 2025, Lufthansa Group and Air India announced the expansion of the codeshare agreements between Air India, Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines.
The two airline carriers share more than 60 years of aviation history, as the first Lufthansa aircraft landed in Delhi in 1959. It’s a connection that continues to expand. In 2004, Air India and Lufthansa signed their first codeshare agreement, and in 2014 the Indian airline joined the Star Alliance that was co-founded by Lufthansa.
In addition, India and the European Union are two of the world’s strongest economies, together representing nearly 25% of global GDP.
According to the European Commission, the EU is India’s largest trading partner for goods, with bilateral trade in goods exceeding €120 billion in 2024, while the EU ranks India as its ninth-largest trading partner, accounting for 2.4% of the EU’s total trade in goods in 2024.
Both economic powers account not only for a quarter of the world’s population and gross domestic product (GDP).
What do you think of Lufthansa Group’s and Air India’s MoU agreement? Let us know in the comments.
