Fraport and Lufthansa have formed a new joint venture called “FraAlliance”. Each company holds a 50% share in the new venture. The two companies intend to use FraAlliance to strengthen their existing cooperation on strategic and operational matters at Frankfurt Airport and thus, plan to deepen their long-standing partnership in relation to enhancing services at Frankfurt Airport’s Terminal 1. The aim is to improve the quality of products and services at Frankfurt Airport.
The joint venture seeks to improve aspects relating to business development and operations, customer experience, infrastructure, intermodality, and sustainability. Improvements are to be achieved by analyzing and optimizing processes in terminal operations, as well as by taking a joint, customer-focused approach to product development. The goal is to bring about a journey-wide enhancement of processes and product offerings for flights, while boosting the competitiveness of the airport.
One initial outcome of the enhanced partnership is the availability of real-time updates for aviation security checkpoints in the Lufthansa App. This allows Lufthansa passengers to see checkpoint waiting times in Frankfurt via the app, enabling them to take these times into account when planning their schedule and travel arrangements.
In another project, passenger flows have been carefully analyzed and optimized. This will significantly reduce transfer times for around a million passengers per year by removing unnecessary, duplicate security checks.
Pierre Dominique Prümm, Fraport AG’s Executive Director Aviation and Infrastructure, says: “With this joint venture, we’re creating a highly responsive and effective team that can pursue areas of mutual interest and to continue improving passenger services. It’s an important signal for the medium and long-term prospects of Frankfurt Airport.”
Jens Ritter, CEO Lufthansa Airlines, says: “We want to offer our customers a reliable, punctual, and first-rate travel experience. The joint venture will allow us to place stronger and more targeted emphasis on the projects required to realize these aims. The new partnership at our Frankfurt hub will deliver significant added value for our customers by implementing innovative, future-focused measures.”
The FraAlliance team is staffed equally by both companies. The new joint venture is being co-led by Dirk Schusdziara (previously Senior Vice President (SVP) Commercial Affairs at Fraport AG's Airside and Terminal Management, Corporate Safety and Security central unit) and Jörg Harnisch (previously Head of Lean Project Management & CoE Process Improvement at the Lufthansa Group).