It could take until 2016 before Lufthansa's  joint venture with Air China is fully up and running due to the time needed for anti-trust approval, the German airline's chief executive said.

"We have intermediate steps, as early as this winter we'll be coordinating schedules," Spohr told analysts at a strategy presentation in London.

The joint venture, which will see the two airlines sharing ticket revenues on certain routes, is expected to give Lufthansa a bigger foothold in China, the world's second largest travel market.

Spohr, who took over as CEO in May, on Wednesday presented his plans for the airline, which include expanding low-cost services in Europe and possibly to intercontinental flights, as well as grounding 8 planes this winter.

He said on Thursday that more planes could be grounded, such as those from units Swiss or Austrian, but that a decision had not been taken yet.