Lufthansa Moves to Majority Control of ITA Airways as Group Restructuring Accelerates
AeroMorning – John Smith — May 12, 2026
May 12, 2026 — ITA Airways is Italy’s national airline and the successor to the former Alitalia. Founded in 2021 following the collapse and restructuring of Alitalia, the carrier was designed to become a leaner and more commercially sustainable Italian airline after decades of instability in the country’s aviation sector.
Headquartered in Rome, ITA Airways operates a modern Airbus-centered fleet composed mainly of:
- A220s
- A320neo family aircraft
- A330neos
- A350s
The airline serves domestic, European and long-haul international destinations from its main hubs at Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate, positioning itself as a premium-focused carrier with a far more streamlined operating structure than its predecessor.
On 12 May 2026, Lufthansa Group confirmed it will exercise its option to increase its stake in ITA Airways from 41% to 90%, marking a decisive phase in the German group’s long-term restructuring and consolidation strategy.
The move follows Lufthansa’s official communiqué published on 17 January 2025, when the group finalized its initial acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA Airways through a €325 million capital increase. At the time, Lufthansa explicitly stated that options existed to progressively acquire the remaining shares in later stages.
The latest decision transforms that roadmap into a concrete takeover strategy. According to reports published on 12 May 2026, Lufthansa will raise its ownership to 90% in June 2026, pending approval from European and U.S. regulators.
ITA Airways Is Now Profitable
A major reason behind Lufthansa’s confidence is that ITA Airways is no longer viewed as a distressed turnaround case.
In 2025, the Italian airline reported its first-ever annual profit:
- €209 million in net earnings
- €404 million EBITDA
- a positive EBIT of €25 million
ITA management stated that part of this improvement came from the first operational synergies already generated through cooperation with Lufthansa Group.
This marks a dramatic break from the Alitalia era, during which chronic losses, political interference and repeated restructuring failures severely weakened Italy’s aviation sector for decades.
For Lufthansa, ITA now represents something fundamentally different:
- a modern airline
- operating a simplified structure
- with a young fleet
- improving financial performance
- and growing integration potential within a larger European airline system
Fleet Compatibility: A Critical Industrial Advantage
One of the strongest strategic arguments behind the acquisition is the remarkable compatibility between Lufthansa Group’s fleet structure and that of ITA Airways.
ITA Airways operates an almost entirely Airbus fleet centered around:
- A220s
- A320neo family aircraft
- A330neos
- A350s
This aligns closely with Lufthansa Group’s own fleet strategy. Across Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, the group already operates large numbers of Airbus narrowbody and widebody aircraft, including A319s, A320s, A321neos, A330s and A350s.
This fleet commonality creates immediate industrial and operational synergies:
- simplified pilot training
- easier crew certification
- shared maintenance infrastructure
- pooled spare-parts inventories
- harmonized technical procedures
- more flexible aircraft deployment
- stronger purchasing leverage with Airbus
Unlike previous European airline mergers involving fragmented and incompatible fleets, the Lufthansa–ITA integration is technically far more straightforward.
ITA Airways was effectively built from the beginning around the kind of fleet simplification and operational efficiency Lufthansa is now seeking across its wider group restructuring.
A Broader Lufthansa Reorganization Strategy
The acquisition is not simply about expanding market share. It forms part of a much broader Lufthansa transformation effort aimed at improving profitability, efficiency and resilience across the group.
Over the past several years, Lufthansa has faced growing pressure from:
- rising labor costs
- increasing operational expenses
- aggressive competition from Gulf carriers
- pressure from European low-cost airlines
- fleet renewal costs
- weaknesses in parts of its short-haul network
In response, Lufthansa has accelerated a strategy focused on:
- consolidation
- multi-hub coordination
- cost harmonization
- deeper integration between subsidiaries
The group already controls several major European carriers, including SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings. ITA Airways strengthens Lufthansa’s position in Southern Europe and gives the group a stronger foothold in one of Europe’s largest aviation markets.
Italy has historically been one of the continent’s most commercially attractive yet structurally fragmented airline markets. Lufthansa believes ITA can finally provide a stable and profitable Italian platform integrated into a disciplined multinational airline structure.
Profitability Through Integration
The strategy closely reflects the long-term vision of Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr, who has repeatedly emphasized the importance of building a coordinated multi-airline group capable of generating sustainable margins through scale and operational efficiency.
Lufthansa expects the integration of ITA Airways to produce benefits through:
- optimized scheduling
- coordinated long-haul traffic flows
- stronger Rome and Milan hub connectivity
- centralized procurement
- shared maintenance operations
- unified digital systems
- higher aircraft utilization rates
The group also aims to deepen Star Alliance connectivity throughout Southern Europe, linking Rome more efficiently with Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels.
Analysts increasingly see the ITA transaction not as a prestige acquisition, but as part of a deeper restructuring effort intended to transform Lufthansa into a more centralized, efficient and profit-oriented European aviation conglomerate.
For Lufthansa, taking majority control of ITA Airways is therefore not merely another airline acquisition. It is a strategic step in reshaping the group for a more competitive and economically demanding global aviation environment over the coming decade.
