It took at least two years between the first rumors of interest and the acquisition of 41% of ITA Airways by Lufthansa, which took place on Saturday, January 18.
From that day on, the Italian carrier, which succeeded the troubled Alitalia in October 2021, became part of the German group, which includes airlines such as Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.
Control of ITA remains in the hands of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, but in the future Lufthansa should acquire this stake as well. For now, the company paid 325 million euros to bring the airline into its operations.
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“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,” said Carsten Spohr.
The deal is the end of a long process that began when Alitalia was rescued again by the Italian government after unsuccessful privatizations.
In debt, the airline was put up for sale, but potential buyers did not want to assume the huge liabilities of years of mismanagement.
The solution was to create a new airline, ITA, and transfer only the healthy part of the business. Then, put it up for sale on the market, which attracted groups such as Air France-KLM, the ship operator MSC and the Certares fund.
However, Lufthansa’s offer prevailed, made official in May 2023, although subject to regulatory approvals.
In the meantime, the disclosure of ITA’s negative results almost threw the deal out of the window, as the German company suggested paying less to the government, However, the terms were maintained at the end of last year.
5th largest airline in the group
In the hands of Lufthansa, ITA Airways becomes the 5th largest airline in the group and Rome’s Fiumicino Airport is its 6th hub, since Italy is its second most important international market, behind only the United States.
In the coming weeks, the mileage programs will be integrated and then passengers will start to enjoy amenities such as airport lounges, in addition to ITA Airways joining the Star Alliance.
German Joerg Eberhart becomes the new CEO of ITA Airways, in addition to being a member of the airline’s board of directors.
ITA Airways currently has a fleet of 99 aircraft, comprising six Airbus A350-900 widebodies, 12 A330-900s and five A330-200s, as well as 21 A220s (10 A220-100s and 11 A220-300s), ten A319s, 19 A320ceos, 19 A320neos and seven A321neos.
The airline flies to 69 destinations and carried 18 million passengers in 2024.
