Airline Shake-Up! Lufthansa Secures 41% of ITA Airways in a Bold Takeover
ROME, 3rd February 2025 – Lufthansa has recently acquired an additional 41 percent stake within Italy’s ITA Airways and implemented a substantial capital increase for around E325 million.
This acquisition places ITA Airways as the fifth network airline of the Lufthansa Group, thus improving the group’s presence in Europe and extending its fleet range. With instant effect, 36 million members of the Miles and More loyalty program can earn and redeem miles on ITA Airways flights.
Simultaneously, Volare, the frequent flyer program operated by ITA Airways can now be utilized by 2.7 million members for earning an spending points on other airlines like, Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines.
From March 30, ITA Airways passengers will also move to Terminal 1 in Frankfurt and Terminal 2 in Munich, where ITA will operate together with Lufthansa for improved passenger movement. This move is expected to lower the connection times at both hubs drastically.
From the same date, lounge access benefit will be available for ITA passengers for more than 130 world-wide lounges of the Lufthansa group, and in return, employees of Lufthansa, have easy access to ITA’s lounges.
Code sharing agreements will also come into force on March 30 and will initially cover over one hundred flight connection borders. Such integrations will help passengers book flights seamlessly on either ITA Airways or any of the airlines in the Lufthansa Group under the same reservation.
It is expected that future development of these partnerships will lead to improved connectivity to over 250 destinations worldwide. Deutsche Lufthansa AG CEO Carsten Spohr remarked,
“Finally, we are pleased to say that ITA Airways is a member of Lufthansa Group.”
He noted that customers will benefit from enhanced travel experiences and operational synergies. As a result of these benefits, it is estimated that the ITA’s Alliance connectivity will double in the second half of 2026. At the same time, travelers from Europe will benefit from an improved competitive offer from the Italian aviation market.
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