Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa chief executive, dismissed fears on Friday that the German airline’s plan to purchase a 19 per cent stake in JetBlue Airways, the US low-cost carrier, could disrupt relations with its existing North American partners in the Star alliance – United Airlines, US Airways and Air Canada.

The surprise move, announced late on Thursday, was described by many analysts as “opportunistic” by Lufthansa to take advantage of the historic low in JetBlue’s share price as well as the weakness of the US dollar against the euro.