LUFTHANSA AG, Germany’s biggest airline, confirmed yesterday the fleet of its Chinese Jade Cargo joint venture is still grounded and talks on its financing were continuing.

    Jade Cargo has informed customers that the planes won’t fly until further notice, a Lufthansa spokesman said.

    He declined to comment on a report in the German daily newspaper Handelsblatt yesterday claiming that this actually means the end of the joint venture.

    Jade Cargo was set up in 2004 by Shenzhen Airlines, now a unit of Air China Ltd., Lufthansa and a unit of German development bank.

    Lufthansa owns a 25 percent stake in Jade Cargo, while a unit of Bank KfW has 24 percent shareholding. The other 51 percent is held by Shenzhen Airlines.

    Jade Cargo said some weeks ago that it had temporarily grounded its fleet of six Boeing 747 freighter planes because of weak demand and the move would provide an opportunity to “continue with the restructuring of the company’s financial structure.”

    The firm was originally scheduled to resume flights at the start of this week.

    A source familiar with the situation said the resumption of flights has been delayed because Lufthansa and other Jade Cargo shareholders were looking for a buyer of their stakes in the joint venture.

    The source said the negotiations were not, however, likely to drag on any longer as Jade might lose its customers and staff.

    A Lufthansa Cargo executive said in November that all options remained open for Jade Cargo, but Lufthansa hoped to reach a conclusion with the other shareholders on its capitalization by the end of last year.(SD-Agencies)