AIRLINES MAKE TOGETHERNESS DEAL
By Adnews Staff
Air Canada and Deutsche Lufthansa AG are going to be sharing frequent flyer points and doing joint marketing campaigns under an agreement that takes effect June 15, subject to regulatory approval. Lufthansa will be ending a pact with Canadian Airlines to go over to Canadian's rival. Members of Air Canada's Aeorplan club will be able to earn points with flights on the German airline, and people enrolled in Lufthansa's Miles & More program will be able to gain points for Air Canada flights. Also, Western Canadians will get more service to Europe; both airlines are planning non-stop flights from Vancouver and Calgary to Frankfurt. The two carriers are co-ordinating their schedules, tickets and baggage handling, so that a traveller will only have to make one ticket purchase to book a route that includes connections with both Air Canada and Lufthansa. Eventually the arrangement could include a host of other airlines in several countries that now have separate arrangements with each of the two carriers. For Air Canada, Frankfurt will become the gateway to continental Europe, the Middle East and Africa, while Heathrow will remain the entry point to Britain. Air Canada's global ad agency is Marketel of Montreal. U.S.-based Young & Rubicam works for Lufthansa around the world.