Lufthansa sees full Air China joint venture not before 2016

It could take until 2016 before Lufthansa's joint venture with Air China is fully up and running due to the time needed for anti-trust approval, the German airline's chief executive said.

"We have intermediate steps, as early as this winter we'll be coordinating schedules," Spohr told analysts at a strategy presentation in London.

The joint venture, which will see the two airlines sharing ticket revenues on certain routes, is expected to give Lufthansa a bigger foothold in China, the world's second largest travel market.

Spohr, who took over as CEO in May, on Wednesday presented his plans for the airline, which include expanding low-cost services in Europe and possibly to intercontinental flights, as well as grounding 8 planes this winter.

He said on Thursday that more planes could be grounded, such as those from units Swiss or Austrian, but that a decision had not been taken yet.

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