Lufthansa Can Go Forward With Buying ITA Airways

Lufthansa and the Italian government have reached an agreement on the sale of a large stake in ITA Airways. All that’s left before the Italian flag carrier becomes a part of the Lufthansa Group is an official approval from the European Union’s antitrust authority.

Last week, a final agreement on Lufthansa’s investment in ITA was put on hold because the Italian government—which owns the airline—and Lufthansa could not agree on a final price. Now, the 2 parties have found a solution, and Lufthansa can proceed with buying 41% of the Italian airline.

That means ITA will leave the Skyteam alliance and join Lufthansa’s Miles & More loyalty ecosystem.

Let’s see what passengers can expect from this development.

ITA Airways Joins the Lufthansa Orbit

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on November 11 that Lufthansa and the Italian Ministry of the Economy, the formal owner of ITA, had negotiated a solution to a spat that threatened to sink the whole deal.

The parties had been negotiating since 2023 for the sale of 41% of ITA to Lufthansa, including the right to buy another 49% later. Lufthansa would pay €325 million ($344 million) for the initial 41% stake. The disagreement was on how much the German airline would pay for the second stake; Lufthansa wanted to revise the agreement to get a discount of around €10 million.

Corriere della Sera reported that Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr went to Rome to meet with Giancarlo Giorgetti, the Minister of the Economy, and negotiated a solution. The 2 agreed that the overall price for the deal would not change but that some parts of the agreement would be revised (the paper did not say which).

The Ministry of the Economy issued a statement on November 11 saying that it expected the deal to be approved officially by the European Union’s antitrust authorities. The EU had asked the 2 airlines to divest some airport slots to avoid abusing the dominant position in some markets that would result from their union.

Citing EU sources, Corriere said that ITA will cede 30 daily takeoff and landing slots at Milan’s Linate airport (LIN) to easyJet. The same sources said that Air France, KLM, and IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, also asked for slots at Linate.

After the EU gives the deal its final green light, ITA will leave the SkyTeam alliance and adopt Lufthansa’s Miles & More as its loyalty program, as well as move into Star Alliance.

No More Delta SkyMiles on ITA Airways

The most relevant impact for U.S.-based flyers is that flying on ITA will no longer earn Delta Air Lines’ SkyMiles and Medallion Qualification Dollars.

It’s also likely that some attractive options, like booking ITA Airways award seats using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points transferred from U.S. credit cards, will go away once the deal is finalized.

While there haven’t been any announcements about ITA’s future membership in Star Alliance, it’s virtually certain that booking award seats on ITA should mirror other airlines in the Lufthansa Group.

That means you might soon be able to book ITA flights using United Airlines MileagePlus miles or Air Canada Aeroplan, as is the case with other carriers affiliated with Lufthansa.

Final Thoughts

Italian flag carrier ITA Airways is about to join the Lufthansa Group, after the Italian government and Lufthansa negotiated a solution to a bump in the road that threatened to derail the deal.

Since ITA serves 7 destinations in the U.S. from Rome, what happens to the airline matters to U.S.-based flyers. Once the deal is finalized, it will no longer be possible to earn Delta SkyMiles on ITA flights. The airline will move to Star Alliance and should join the Miles & More loyalty program.