Lufthansa launches upstream check-in service across Greater Bay Area

Airports

Carsten Spohr Chief Executive Officer | Lufthansa Group

By Sky Industry News

Dec 2, 2024

Since September 30, Lufthansa Group has introduced an Upstream Check-In (UCI) service in eight ports within the Greater Bay Area. This initiative allows passengers flying with Lufthansa German Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines to complete immigration, check-in, and baggage tagging at six ferry ports and two land ports before proceeding to SkyPier at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). The process enables travelers to head directly to boarding gates without further customs checks in Hong Kong. Additionally, this service is available for passengers traveling from Europe to the Greater Bay Area.

With UCI, passengers can collect their baggage at final destinations without additional reclaim or check-in requirements. The minimum connection time at HKIA SkyPier Terminal is reduced from 110 minutes to about 80 minutes.

Mr. Frank Naeve, Senior Vice President Sales & Distribution of Lufthansa Group, stated during the launch ceremony in Shenzhen Shekou Port: “Our group is heavily investing in modernizing our fleet with the acquisition of state-of-the-art long-haul aircrafts. But that’s not all, we are working continuously to improve our customer experience including the opening of new lounge facilities, offering new catering concepts as well as enhancing the digital experience for our customers. Overall, we are investing more than €2.5bn in Product & Services by 2025.”

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The group aims to serve around 20,000 passengers annually through this new service.

Also present at the UCI launch in Shenzhen were Mr. Felipe Bonifatti, Vice President Asia Pacific & Joint Ventures East of Lufthansa Group, and Ms. Qian Chen, Senior Director Sales Greater China of Lufthansa Group.

Currently, Lufthansa offers daily direct flights from Hong Kong to Frankfurt and Zurich. To utilize UCI and purchase a ferry ticket, passengers must have valid confirmed air tickets from Lufthansa Group departing from HKIA. The eight ports include Zhongshan, Shenzhen Shekou, Guangzhou Nansha, Dongguan Humen, Guangzhou Pazhou, Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal and both Zhuhai and Macau Ports on the Hong Kong–Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

Additionally, since July this year, Lufthansa Cargo has expanded its freighter network by adding Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport with services twice a week.

The Lufthansa Group operates globally with over 100,000 employees and reported revenues of €35.4 billion for 2023. Passenger Airlines is its largest business segment alongside Logistics and Maintenance segments.