## 4 Case Study Results
### The Origin and Evolution of the AeroLogic Joint Venture  
As noted earlier, the roots of Lufthansa Cargo and DHL's relationship date back to the 1990s, when Lufthansa held a 25% shareholding in DHL, although mostly as a passive investor [49]. In April 2000, Lufthansa Cargo and Deutsche Post pooled their joint 50% shareholdings in DHL into a new joint venture, AeroLogic GmbH, to manage the voting rights of the two companies in DHL [110]. Lufthansa subsequently sold its DHL shareholding in 2001, but in 2002, following the phase-out of its quick-change (QC) aircraft fleet--which were used to provide night-time air cargo services into Cologone--it replaced that capacity through cooperation with DHL on its intra-European network of Boeing B757 freighters [(98; 40)]. In February 2004, Lufthansa Cargo and DHL concluded a strategic partnership agreement whereby Lufthansa was to deploy capacity equivalent to seven Boeing MD11 freighters on five intercontinental routes for DHL [(99; 111)]. The capacity on the freighter services was divided on a 50/50 basis. Under the _\"Aerologic Intercontinental\"_ joint venture, Lufthansa operated dedicated freighter services from three European DHL hubs--Brussels, Cologne, and Birmingham--to key Asian and North American destinations [(112)]. The strategic alliance agreement with DHL assisted Lufthansa by ensuring long-term capacity utilization and less seasonal traffic variations, a contributory factor to declining profits being experienced at the time of the conclusion of the joint venture agreement with DHL [(113)] (p. 47). In addition, the agreement with DHL permitted Lufthansa to phase out its older Boeing B747-200 freighter fleet and refocus operations around its Boeing MD11 freighter fleet [(91)]. Originally based in Cologne, these services were transferred in October 2007 to Leipzig/Halle Airport, the DHL Express European express network primary hub [(9)]. The agreement between the two partners was to run through to 2009. However, both organizations foresaw the pac extending well past that timeframe by using AeroLogic as a vehicle for achieving synergies offered by their respective activities [(113)]. In July 2007, plans were made public by DHL and Lufthansa Cargo that they intended to establish a joint company for express and air cargo transport alike. The initial acronym of the project was NewCo (New Company) but this was later was replaced by its present brand 'AeroLogic' [(114)]. In January 2008, following eight years of growing cooperation between the two companies, Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Express announced their proposed joint venture air cargo airline: AeroLogic. The joint venture airline is between Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Deutsche Post Beteiligungen Holding AG who have entrusted Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Express with operational responsibility [(115)]. AeroLogic was established as a completely new airline with \(\ell 50\) million in start-up capital [(45)] and has its own Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), air traffic rights, and is responsible for all its flight operations, including aircraft, flight crews, and route network [(115)]. The new company officially started business on 28 January 2008 with an initial staff of 20 employees [(116)]. The company now has a staff of around 310, 220 of which are flight deck crew [(115)]. On 19 June 2009, AeroLogic officially commenced commercial operations. With the delivery of its first Boeing 777-200 LRF aircraft and after securing the Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from the German Aviation Authority (LBA), the company was ready to commence commercial operations. The company's maiden flight was on 29 June 2009, flying first from Leipzig to Bahrain and then onto Hong Kong before returning to Leipzig Airport via the same intermediate points. The first AeroLogic flight operated under the auspices of Lufthansa Cargo took place on 4 July 2009, on the route Leipzig/Halle-Bahrain-Singapore-Delhi and back to Leipzig [(114)].