The integration of ITA Airways into Lufthansa Group has begun as the Italian flag carrier is scheduled to move to Lufthansa terminals in Frankfurt and Munich airports after completing the acquisition of 41% of the airline.
The strategic move will bring with it important operational changes and benefits for passengers, consolidating the presence of the German group in the European aviation market.
From the use of frequent flyer programs, moving of flight operations at airport terminals, lounge access, code sharing, coordinated European flight schedule – customers will already be able to see the benefits of the integration, shortly after the Lufthansa Group's concluded participation in ITA Airways.
ITA Airways' first press conference of the year 2025 was held today at the Rome Fiumicino headquarters in the presence of the top management of the Italian company, Chairman Sandro Pappalardo and CEO Joerg Eberhart, with the participation of Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
At the press conference in Rome, the first concrete steps and improvements for customers during and post integration process was presented.
With immediate effect, 36 million Miles & More members can earn and redeem miles on all ITA Airways flights. At the same time, the 2.7 million members of the ITA Airways frequent flyer program Volare can earn and redeem their points on all flights operated by Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.
However, the bulk of the changes due to the integration will become effective on March 30 this year, which also coincides with the start of the summer season.
Lufthansa Group said in the press release,
With the start of the summer flight schedule on March 30, 2025, passengers of ITA Airways and Lufthansa Group can enjoy the following benefits:
Using the same terminal is an essential prerequisite for quick and comfortable transfers at the Lufthansa Group's hubs. With the start of the upcoming summer flight schedule, ITA Airways will move into the Lufthansa Airlines terminals in Frankfurt and Munich – into Terminal 1 in Frankfurt and into Terminal 2 in Munich.
This will significantly reduce passengers' transfer times. At all other hubs of the group, as well as in Rome-Fiumicino and Milan-Linate, the Lufthansa Group airlines already offer their flights in the same terminal areas as ITA Airways.
Starting 30 March, ITA Airways passengers will also be able to visit and use the approximately 130 lounges of the Lufthansa Group and its partners on their travels. The lounges of ITA Airways will also be open to Lufthansa Group passengers from this date.
Customers will have more choice and greater flexibility with the addition of the ITA Airways flights to the route networks of Lufthansa Group Airlines. With the start of the summer flight schedule, more than 100 flight connections will initially share their flight numbers and can thus be more easily combined.
These code-shares make it possible to combine flights of different airlines in the group into a single booking. Once fully implemented, this code-sharing will give ITA Airways passengers access to over 250 destinations of the Lufthansa Group.
For passengers of the Lufthansa Group airlines, the offer will be expanded to include ITA Airways domestic flights to Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria and Puglia. All codeshare connections can be booked from 25 February through all global sales channels, including online and via the Lufthansa Group and ITA Airways apps.
The flight connections between the Lufthansa Group's hubs (Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels) and ITA Airways' two main airports (Rome and Milan) are optimized and better distributed throughout the day to offer guests more travel flexibility. Coordinated departure times mean less waiting time for guests and better connections to long-haul destinations.
During the conference, it was also announced that ITA Airways has finalized its exit from the SkyTeam alliance. During the exit phase, which will end on 30 April 2025, ITA Airways and SkyTeam are committed to ensuring a structured and efficient process, ensuring the continuity of services to customers.
ITA Airways will also continue to collaborate with certain SkyTeam Alliance airlines through existing bilateral agreements, maintaining the benefits available to customers. The press release read as,
"In the future, ITA Airways passengers will also be able to take advantage of all the product benefits of the Lufthansa Group. The Italian airline's admission to Star Alliance, the biggest global aviation alliance, is of crucial importance for this. Preparations have already begun.
"ITA Airways' official accession to the Star Alliance is planned for the first half of 2026. Accordingly, ITA Airways already initiated the withdrawal from the SkyTeam alliance."
The cooperation between ITA Airways and Lufthansa Cargo is also to be quickly intensified in the airfreight sector. The first joint offers for freight customers will be available on selected routes as early as the upcoming summer.
Sandro Pappalardo, President of ITA Airways, said :
"I am pleased to participate today in the first press conference of ITA Airways as President. This role is a great responsibility for me and after just a few days I understood even more the importance of this assignment and the challenges we will face from here on out, in a climate of total and deep collaboration with the Lufthansa Group."
"I am sure that the Company will soon achieve its objectives and will guarantee passengers and the country ever greater connectivity and enhancement all over the world".
Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said:
“Now that ITA Airways has become a member of our airline family a few days ago, we want to push ahead with the merger quickly, so that ITA and its passengers, as well as the guests of our other passenger airlines, can quickly benefit from the advantages of an expanded Lufthansa Group."
"We are also confident that ITA Airways will realize a profit as early as this year. All in all, we are convinced that today, the start of the integration of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group, marks the beginning of a joint success story for customers, employees and shareholders of ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group.”
With this latest acqusition and itegration taking shape in the European aviation, Lufthansa Group strengthens its presence in the Italian market and expands its offer in Europe, improving connectivity and the passenger experience.
ITA Airways’ fleet reinforcement continues, now consists of 99 aircraft, 64 of which are new-generation models, including 11 Airbus A330-900, 7 A321neo, 19 A320neo, 11 A220-300, and 10 A220-100.
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