We recently saw Lufthansa Group acquire a 41% stake in ITA Airways. The German airline group taking a major stake in Italy’s national carrier is quite a development for European aviation. While we’ve had a general sense of what ITA Airways’ integration into Lufthansa Group would look like, some more details have just been officially revealed.
In this post:
ITA Airways moving from SkyTeam to Star Alliance
We’ve known that this would happen, but we now have the timeline. ITA Airways is leaving the SkyTeam alliance imminently. The process will take place between February 3 and April 30, 2025, so we’re going to see this winding down pretty quickly. Once this happens, it’ll no longer be possible to earn or redeem miles with most SkyTeam carriers for travel on ITA Airways.
Next up, ITA Airways is joining the Star Alliance, which is also the alliance that the major Lufthansa Group carriers belong to. The catch? Well, it’s going to be a slow process. ITA Airways only plans to join Star Alliance in the first half of 2026, so we’ll be patient.
It’s entirely possible we see some bilateral frequent flyer agreements launched in the near future, especially with Lufthansa’s joint venture partners, like Air Canada and United. However, I’d expect there to be limited opportunities to earn and redeem miles on the carrier for the remainder of the year.
Lufthansa Miles & More partners with ITA Airways Volare
Even with ITA Airways not part of a major global airline alliance, we are going to see a closer loyalty collaboration between Lufthansa and ITA Airways. Effective immediately:
- 36 million Lufthansa Miles & More members can earn and redeem miles on ITA Airways flights
- 2.7 million ITA Airways Volare members can earn and redeem points on Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, and Brussels flights
For the time being, this is likely the most reciprocity that we’ll see when it comes to being able to earn and redeem miles on ITA Airways.
Lufthansa & ITA Airways aligning business in other ways
As of March 30, 2025 (the start of the summer travel schedule), we’re going to see closer cooperation between Lufthansa Group and ITA Airways. Specifically:
- ITA Airways will move to Terminal 1 at Frankfurt (FRA) and Terminal 2 at Munich (MUC), to be closer to Lufthansa, and simplify transfers; at all other Lufthansa Group hubs, flights already depart from the same terminals
- Reciprocal lounge access will be offered, whereby premium ITA Airways passengers will be able to use Lufthansa lounges, and premium Lufthansa passengers will be able to use ITA Airways lounges
- A codeshare agreement will be added, initially covering more than 11 routes, making it possible to combine flights across Lufthansa Group airlines on a single ticket; these codeshare flights will become bookable as of February 25, 2025
- Coordinated flight schedules between hubs, whereby Lufthansa Group hubs will have schedules that are optimized to offer the most connections throughout the day; this includes in Frankfurt (FRA), Munich (MUC), Zurich (ZRH), Vienna (VIE), Brussels (BRU), Rome (FCO), and Milan (LIN)
Bottom line
With Lufthansa Group having taken a stake in ITA Airways, we now have more of a sense of what to expect. ITA Airways is leaving the SkyTeam alliance by April 30, 2025, and plans to join Star Alliance in 2026. We’ve also now seen Lufthansa Miles & More and ITA Airways Volare introduce frequent flyer reciprocity.
As of late March 2025, we’ll see further integration among Lufthansa Group carriers, including the launch of codeshare agreements, co-location in terminals, and more.
What do you make of these ITA Airways updates?
The SAS-ITA trade was even worse than Luka Dončić- Anthony Davis trade LMAO
FANTASTIC NEWS. It was about time they left that awful alliance for something way better. I hope other skyteam members take note, and follow ITAs lead
It will be interesting to see which one-on-one partnerships (non-Star Alliance) exist post-transition.
Don't hold your breathe on ITA joining Star in 2026. They technically joined Skyteam in 2021 and have consistently not been recognized by most Skyteam carriers over the last 4 years. It was a running joke in the frequent flyer community. And there was an unpublished list of "non-earning" Skyteam carriers (including Tarom) whose flights could not credit to ITA, on top of most Skyteam carriers refusing to recognize ITA status. It's a total joke,...
Don't hold your breathe on ITA joining Star in 2026. They technically joined Skyteam in 2021 and have consistently not been recognized by most Skyteam carriers over the last 4 years. It was a running joke in the frequent flyer community. And there was an unpublished list of "non-earning" Skyteam carriers (including Tarom) whose flights could not credit to ITA, on top of most Skyteam carriers refusing to recognize ITA status. It's a total joke, so it's hilarious to see Ben write "Well, it’s going to be a slow process. ITA Airways only plans to join Star Alliance in the first half of 2026, so we’ll be patient." Patience is an understatement.
Oh well. DELTA is more premium anyway!
Im amazed there are almost as many Volare members as M&M members given how much larger the LH Group is compared with ITA
@ Chris w -- Sorry, that should've said 2.7 million, not 27 million. Fixed!
Ben,
Curious to see if Volare Executive members will get the same benefits as HON circle members. With ITA eventually adopting Miles & More as their loyalty program you'd have to wonder if Executive members will become HON circle members or be "downgraded" to Senators
@ Dennis -- I think there's zero chance that Executive would convert to HON Circle. In terms of perks, it's more in line with Senator, and Lufthansa doesn't just give away HON Circle (especially given how aggressively ITA has been status matching).
Yikes. Sure glad I didn't book those ITA flights over the weekend for credit to Delta.
I watched a fascinating interview not long ago between Richard Quest of CNN and the Lufthansa CEO. I was surprised to learn that Italy is Lufthansa's biggest market.
AZ to join *A this summer, not 2026. LH already announced it
BENJAMIN,
Why the "*A"? Can you not say STAR ALLIANCE. Say it LOUDLY AND PROUDLY!
*A 1W ST
@ Ben -- The press release from Lufthansa Group suggests otherwise:
"ITA Airways' official accession to the Star Alliance is planned for the first half of 2026."
https://newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/en/integration-of-ita-airways-into-the-lufthansa-group-has-commenced/
Thank you for the correction. Other publications reported differently. But we'll see. There might be acceleration of the process.
So how am I supposed to get that free checked baggage on the Light fare I just booked with KLM moments ago...?
Out of luck there buddy-boy. Guess you're paying full price. This is going to be a recurring theme - ANGRY customers!
Your sarcasm detector may need new batteries.
BLAH BLAH BLAH. Guy is a Degenerate. Perhaps something did not quite descend as well? Something that begins with TES and ends with TICLES.
I do not see in this following press release by Lufthansa Group that they are immediately leaving SkyTeam from 05 Feb, my understanding is that they initiated the process.
https://newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/en/integration-of-ita-airways-into-the-lufthansa-group-has-commenced/#
Michael,
SkyTeam just announced it:
https://www.aviacionline.com/ita-airways-exits-skyteam-and-aligns-with-lufthansa-group
The unbelievable cost of changing alliances makes the whole thing pointless, will only serve to increase fare prices significantly, if not double them as a result. Think of the reputational damage, rebranding, uniforms, training of staff, all agreements that need to be put in place. Not good.