Lufthansa could be hurt is United Airlines goes belly up

The bankruptcy of U.S. air carrier United Airlines could unleash some dire straits for Lufthansa, its German partner at Star Alliance, contrary to what the latter’s front office has been saying, a spokesman for the Cockpit Pilot Trade Union, Georg Fongern told German newspaper Die Welt.

United Airlines, the second-largest air carrier in the U.S., filed today for Chapter 11 of the country’s Bankruptcy Act, a process that will keep the company operational while it tries to overhaul its finances.

In the last couple of years, the company lost roughly $4 million as a result of a wimpy world economy, its own high expenses and low fares. This situation dragged United into indebtedness.

“We’re taking all precautions to minimize whatever impact our reshuffling might have on our customers,” said Graham Atkinson, Vice President of United Airlines’ International Division.

“As soon as UA cuts down on American domestic flights –very much in shortage right now- Lufthansa will be bound to offer less connections inside the U.S.,” he explained. Lufthansa was forced to state Monday that United Airlines’ Chapter 11 filing wouldn’t bring grim consequences for either the German carrier or its customers. However, Lufthansa stressed its intention to assess the possibility of bailing United Airlines out. “There are instances in the past of airlines that filed for Chapter 11 and then went on to conduct a satisfactory streamlining,” Lufthansa’s president Juergen Weber said Monday.