Italian provider ITA Airways is leaving the SkyTeam airline alliance and can — finally — shift to Star Alliance.
That every one comes because the Lufthansa Group has formally begun the method of absorbing ITA beneath its umbrella, the German conglomerate mentioned Monday.
Lufthansa finalized its acquisition of a 41% stake in state-owned ITA in January, closing a deal price 325 million euros ($334 million). The remaining 59% will proceed to be owned by the Italian authorities.
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“We consider strongly within the potential of ITA Airways, we consider within the power of Italy, of its economic system, of its folks,” Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr mentioned at a press convention in Rome on Monday, in keeping with Reuters.
With the acquisition out of the way in which, Lufthansa’s focus turns to integrating ITA, its fifth community airline alongside Austrian Airways, Brussels Airways, Swiss and the unique Lufthansa. The Lufthansa Group additionally owns low-cost provider Eurowings and a number of other regional and feeder airways.
As a part of the combination, the Italian model will change from the SkyTeam alliance to Star Alliance, which most Luftansa Group manufacturers already belong to. Different notable carriers amongst Star Alliance’s 25 full members embrace United Airways, Air Canada, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Avianca, Ethiopian Airways and Singapore Airways.
In accordance with a separate statement, SkyTeam mentioned it was working “to make sure a clean transition for purchasers and companions through the exit section, which concludes by 30 April 2025.”
Even with the exit from SkyTeam now underway, Lufthansa said ITA shouldn’t be anticipated to completely be part of Star Alliance till the primary half of 2026.
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As of Monday, members of Lufthansa’s frequent flyer program, Miles & Extra, can earn and redeem miles on ITA flights, whereas members of ITA’s program, Volare, can earn and redeem on Lufthansa Group airways, Lufthansa mentioned.
It was not instantly clear whether or not Lufthansa would soak up the Volare program into Miles & Extra or maintain it separate, though Lufthansa’s different airways all use Miles & Extra.
The subsequent set of modifications comes March 30, when the airways start working their summer season flight schedules.
ITA will start codesharing with Lufthansa Group flights, permitting passengers to guide connections and single bookings for multisegment flights. The codesharing will begin with about 100 routes that may be booked beginning Feb. 25, Lufthansa mentioned, earlier than increasing to extra flights.
Coinciding with the codeshare, ITA will begin flying out of Lufthansa’s terminals at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) — Terminal 1 — and Munich Airport (MUC) — Terminal 2 — to make connections simpler, Lufthansa mentioned.
In the meantime, ITA passengers with lounge entry will have the ability to use Lufthansa Group lounges and vice versa beginning March 30.
Whilst Lufthansa brings ITA’s operations inside its personal, the group is constant to search for extra alternatives to broaden inside Europe. Lufthansa agreed final week to accumulate a minority stake in Latvia’s airBaltic, whereas the group can be considering shopping for a stake in Spanish low-cost provider Air Europa, Reuters reported.
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