Lufthansa Acquires 41% Stake In ITA & Installs German CEO

Lufthansa’s long journey to acquire a 41% stake in ITA Airways, the former Alitalia, has finally been completed, and German Jörg Eberhart has been appointed CEO of the airline.

Lufthansa paid €325 million for the initial stake and plans gradually to acquire the rest from Italy’s government by 2033.

You can access ITA Airways here.

Lufthansa Group already controls four airlines with five/six hubs:

• Lufthansa (Frankfurt & Munich)
• Swiss (Zurich & Geneva)
• Brussels Airlines (Brussels)
• Austrian (Vienna)

All Lufthansa Group airlines use Miles&More as their frequent flier program. LOT also uses Miles&More but is owned by the Polish state.

ITA Airways has a frequent flier program that will eventually be replaced with Miles&More; also, the airline is currently a SkyTeam alliance member but will soon head for an exit and join Star Alliance.

Conclusion

We should soon learn about ITA’s SkyTeam exit and when it will become a full member of the Star Alliance. Miles&More will eventually replace Volare as the frequent flier program.

Further consolidation is taking place in European aviation. TAP is looking for a new home, IAG’s takeover of Air Europa collapsed, and the future of Riga-based Air Baltic is uncertain.

For decades, the former Alitalia was a money-losing operation. It was briefly part of Etihad’s Equity Alliance, which collapsed. Let’s see if Lufthansa can control the costs and if future Italian governments can keep their hands off the airline.

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