Lufthansa Agrees Deal With ITA Airways

After much deliberation and discussions, Lufthansa has reportedly closed a deal with ITA Airways to see them take a minority stake in the airline.

A decision comes following Lufthansa outlining their intent to strengthen their presence in Italy, a region they’ve always typically struggled to be massively present in.

Lufthansa believes it can use its strong network capabilities and understanding of the industry to transform ITA Airways into a European powerhouse. Or ITA, well, they believe acquiring a minority stake will lead them to see many benefits.

Discussions over who would take on the Italian airline have been long-running, with Air France / KLM, Delta, and Easyjet all being discussed as potential options. However, it was the Lufthansa Group that ended up winning the race.

As with all industry decisions, there are critics. These critics believe the airline will incur a similar fate to Alitalia’s. Who closed in 2021 off the back of a devastating run of poor performance across the board. But, some feel a Lufthansa acquisition is just what ITA needs to strengthen itself within the industry.

Once the deal is formally closed, Lufthansa will appoint a chief executive at the airline and jointly manage the operations. These steps are due to Lufthansa outlining its intent also eventually own a majority stake in the airline.

Lufthansa will, therefore, formally take a 41% stake in ITA Airways and inject US $358 million of capital into the airline.