Lufthansa German Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines successfully complete one year of partnership

As a result of the collaboration, which now enters its second year, customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been able to enjoy a host of benefits, including more flight options to choose from, outbound via Frankfurt and inbound via Zurich or vice versa for example, joint ground services in Jeddah and Riyadh, better connections to more destinations worldwide, a shared frequent flyer programme and enhanced international lounge access, to name a few.

Passengers travelling on either airline from Saudi Arabia have also been able to benefit from a harmonised price structure, which allow travellers to journey one way on SWISS and return on Lufthansa or vice versa.

Together, Lufthansa and SWISS have been able to wholly service the western, central and eastern regional provinces - Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Bahrain, with daily flights to more than 181 destinations worldwide via Zurich, Frankfurt and Munich.

Both carriers took the alliance a step further by merging both sales and marketing functions in the Kingdom, with a move to a centralised office in Riyadh and Jeddah, improving operations considerably. The joint offices have also taken the steps to implementing new concepts to strengthen the union of both teams, such as one kitchen serving two restaurants.

Speaking at the media briefing, Joachim Steinbach, regional vice president for Lufthansa, said: "We are very pleased with the success of the integration in the Kingdom. Between offering a single airfare policy to joint check-in facilities, the opportunities for our discerning, frequent travellers are endless. Both carriers see great promise in this sector and jointly value our passengers from the Kingdom. We will therefore continue to develop our product offering to provide additional customer incentives - the goal that drives this integration."

Felix Rodel, director of sales for the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Iran, added: "The positive past business year has proven that two heads really are better than one. The ease with which we have jointly operated in the Kingdom has been more than encouraging and we will continue to make the most of this partnership, by constantly improving our service to provide passengers the best of travel options."

To sustain the joint operational effort in the Kingdom, Abdul Aziz Mangera remains manager for both airlines for the Western Province, while Rolf Koller continues his post as general manager for both airlines in the Kingdom.

Miles&More, the world's most recognised frequent flyer programme continues to be the loyalty scheme of choice for Lufthansa and SWISS passengers. Both airlines are also members of Star Alliance, the world's largest and most comprehensive airline grouping. Star Alliance extends to 842 destinations in 152 countries, offering Miles&More members advantageous access to more than 660 lounges, as well as the accrual and redemption of frequent flyer points.