The Italian airline ITA Airways is a new member of the Lufthansa Group. The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and Europe's leading aviation group concluded the transaction today. As a result, the Lufthansa Group has a 41 percent stake in the Italian airline ITA Airways. The remaining 59 percent will initially continue to be held by MEF.
The two parties had already agreed in May 2023 that Deutsche Lufthansa AG would acquire a minority stake of 41 percent in ITA Airways. The European Commission had recently approved the participation by approving the remedies on 29 November 2024. Other competition authorities outside the EU have since also approved the participation.
The first step of the investment was implemented today by means of a capital increase of 325 million euros. Options for the acquisition of the remaining shares in ITA Airways have been agreed between the Lufthansa Group and MEF and can be exercised from this year. With today's transaction, ITA Airways is part of the Lufthansa Group and will be the Group's fifth network airline.
The country is already the company's second most important international market after the USA, outside the existing home markets of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. The five-star Rome Fiumicino Airport will be the sixth and southernmost Lufthansa Group hub. Milan-Linate, as a metropolitan airport in the economically strong northern Italy region with the second largest catchment area in the EU, will play a prominent role in the Group.
FCO
Rom-Fiumicino
becomes the sixth and southernmost hub of the Lufthansa Group
We are proud to finally welcome ITA Airways to the Lufthansa Group. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this, especially in Rome, Brussels, Berlin and Frankfurt. The ITA Airways team has written an impressive success story in recent years and, with great energy, passion and expertise, has built an airline that is already the pride of an entire nation.
Carsten Spohr
Chief Executive Officer
Deutschen Lufthansa AG
Social Responsibility
Employees
Flight destinations
Destinations
Fleet
Aircrafts
Passengers
million passengers
ITA Airways will be retained as a strong brand and developed further. With today's closing of the transaction, the Lufthansa Group and ITA Airways can conclude the first cooperation agreements for their passengers. In a few weeks, ITA Airways frequent flyers will be able to collect their points or miles either in ITA Airways' existing “Volare” program or already in Miles & More, the Lufthansa Group's loyalty program. In addition, Miles & More participants will have the opportunity to earn and redeem miles on ITA Airways flights.
Further collaborations, such as joint codeshare connections, mutual use of the respective lounges and the planned admission to the Star Alliance aviation alliance, are to follow successively. Further details will be communicated to customers and partners in a timely manner.
ITA Airways (IATA flight number code “AZ”) is a young airline that has been growing since it started operating in 2021. Its modern, environmentally friendly Airbus fleet currently numbers 99 aircraft, including 22 long-haul Airbus A350-900, Airbus A330-900neo and A330-200 aircraft. ITA Airways flies to almost 70 destinations around the world. The airline's home base is its Rome Fiumicino (5-star Skytrax) and Milan Linate airport. In 2024, the airline welcomed around 18 million passengers on board its aircraft.
LIN
Mailand-Linate
ITA Airways' most important airport in northern Italy with direct and high-frequency connections.
The Lufthansa Group is a global aviation group with aroud 240 subsidiaries.
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