United Cargo and Lufthansa Cargo have signed a joint venture agreement to share routes between the US and Europe, with business day 1 due later this year.

The signing initiates the implementation phase of the joint venture during which the carriers will align their cargo IT systems and business processes.

Customers will be able to use capacity on both carriers with access from each partner’s booking platform, providing greater flexibility and time savings with thousands of new weekly route combinations and more than 600 direct connections per week between the US and Europe.

Customers will also benefit from coordinated handling processes and transfers at numerous stations.

Lufthansa Cargo chief executive officer, Peter Gerber says: “The Lufthansa-United cargo joint venture will generate numerous benefits for our customers because our continental and transatlantic networks, our hubs and our fleet complement each other effectively.”

United Cargo president, Jan Krems says: “We are excited about the benefits that will be generated by our teams’ cooperation and our combined capacities. Cargo customers will appreciate the opportunities for quicker and easier shipping between key locations in the U.S. and Europe.”