The integration of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group has begun, bringing a range of benefits to customers. This development follows the Lufthansa Group’s acquisition of a stake in ITA Airways. At a press conference in Rome, Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Sandro Pappalardo, Chairman of ITA Airways, and Joerg Eberhart, CEO of ITA Airways, outlined the initial steps and improvements for passengers.
Frequent flyer program members will see immediate advantages. “36 million Miles & More members can earn and redeem miles on all ITA Airways flights,” said Spohr. Additionally, 2.7 million Volare members from ITA Airways can now earn and redeem points on flights operated by Lufthansa Group airlines including SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines.
Starting March 30, 2025, with the summer flight schedule launch, passengers will benefit from streamlined operations at major hubs like Frankfurt and Munich where both airlines will share terminals to reduce transfer times. Lounge access is also being expanded; ITA Airways passengers will have access to approximately 130 lounges within the Lufthansa network.
Code sharing between the two airlines is set to enhance flexibility for travelers with over 100 initial flight connections sharing numbers. This arrangement allows combining flights across different airlines within a single booking system. Once fully implemented, this code-sharing agreement aims to offer ITA Airways’ passengers access to over 250 destinations within the Lufthansa Group’s network.
Flight schedules between key hubs are being coordinated for better connectivity throughout the day. Furthermore, preparations are underway for ITA Airways’ admission into Star Alliance by mid-2026 following its withdrawal from SkyTeam.
In airfreight operations too there is increased cooperation planned between ITA Airways and Lufthansa Cargo with joint offers expected on selected routes by summer.
Carsten Spohr expressed optimism about this merger: “Now that ITA Airways has become a member of our airline family… we want to push ahead with the merger quickly.” He added confidence in achieving profitability for ITA this year while marking today as “the start of a joint success story.”
