In October 2025, Lufthansa (Asia) officially withdrew entirely from Sichuan Airlines Lufthansa Catering Co., Ltd. After 25 years of cooperation, the joint venture has been fully transformed into a wholly owned local subsidiary of Sichuan Airlines and renamed Sichuan Airlines Group Catering Food Co., Ltd.
This means Sichuan Airlines’ signature Sichuan-style inflight meals will no longer carry any foreign involvement.
Tracing back to 2000, Sichuan Airlines and Lufthansa jointly established the venture with a 60/40 share split. Lufthansa brought international catering technology and management expertise, laying a solid foundation for Sichuan Airlines’ inflight catering development.
Today, Sichuan Airlines’ catering has developed a distinct identity built around “Chinese elements and Sichuan flavors.” Its localized R&D and operational capabilities now fully meet market needs. With Lufthansa’s technical input largely absorbed, full local ownership has become a natural next step.
Lufthansa’s strategic withdrawal is also linked to financial pressures and its current situation in the Chinese market.
Although Lufthansa has retained direct routes such as Beijing–Munich, Shanghai–Frankfurt, Shanghai–Munich, and Frankfurt–Hong Kong in its 2025/2026 winter schedule—and even launched premium products like the Allegris First Class “double suite” on the Shanghai–Munich route to appeal to Chinese travelers—the overall contraction of its China business remains difficult to reverse. Exiting the catering joint venture has therefore become a necessary move to streamline its strategy.
