Lufthansa Exercises Option to Take 90% of ITA Airways for 325 Million Euros, Pushing Italian Flag Carrier Fully Inside the German Group
Lufthansa will exercise its option in June to buy an additional 49% of ITA Airways from the Italian state for 325 million euros, lifting its stake to 90% and triggering full integration of the Italian flag carrier.
Overview
Lufthansa Group said on May 12 that it will exercise its option in June to acquire an additional 49% of ITA Airways from Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance for 325 million euros, lifting its holding in the Italian flag carrier from 41% to 90%, according to the Lufthansa Group newsroom. The transaction is subject to clearance by the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, as reported by Euronews.
The move converts a minority investment that Lufthansa first took on January 17, 2025 into outright control of Italy’s national carrier, per the Lufthansa Group statement, and is structured so that the remaining 10% held by the Italian state can be acquired by Lufthansa in 2028, as detailed by CAPA Centre for Aviation.
What We Know
- The price for the additional 49% stake is 325 million euros, a figure both Lufthansa and the Italian government had agreed in advance, according to Lufthansa.
- The option exercise is scheduled for June 2026, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2027 pending regulatory approvals, according to AeroTime.
- Two regulators must clear the transaction: the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, per CAPA.
- The seller is Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, which previously held 59% of the airline before selling the first 41% tranche to Lufthansa in January 2025, as reported by Euronews.
- After the June transaction, the Italian state will continue to hold the remaining 10% of ITA Airways, with Lufthansa holding an option to acquire that stake in 2028, according to CAPA.
Integration Already in Flight
Many of the operational pieces of integration are already in place. ITA Airways joined Star Alliance on March 31, 2026, having previously dropped its Volare frequent-flyer program and adopted Lufthansa’s Miles & More, and ITA’s German operations have moved into Lufthansa’s terminals at the Frankfurt and Munich hubs, as reported by AeroTime.
Lufthansa Group chief executive Carsten Spohr framed the speed of that integration as a deliberate choice. “Following the acquisition of the first 41 percent stake in ITA Airways last year, we promised the fastest airline integration in our history,” Spohr said, as quoted by Travel Tomorrow. He added: “All customer-facing interfaces are already integrated today—with the exception of North Atlantic flights,” noting that regulatory approval for the merger is still pending, as reported by Euronews.
Cargo is also being run through Lufthansa’s system. Spohr noted that “Lufthansa Cargo has been marketing ITA Airways’ cargo capacity, which alone corresponds to the additional capacity of three Boeing 777 freighters,” according to the Lufthansa Group newsroom.
ITA Airways chief executive Jörg Eberhart said the next step from majority ownership is full integration of the carrier into the German group. “Full integration into the Lufthansa Group will allow us to compete more strongly in international markets, while continuing to bring to the world the value of Italy,” Eberhart said, as quoted by CAPA. Eberhart separately called the decision “a clear demonstration of the good work carried out so far,” according to AeroTime.
What We Don’t Know
The announcement does not include a timeline for when the still-pending North Atlantic joint-venture approval might come through, nor does it spell out what conditions, if any, antitrust authorities may attach to clearance of the additional 49% acquisition. Lufthansa’s previous acquisitions of SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines were each fully integrated into the group following their respective takeovers, per AeroTime.
The statement also does not detail how the 2028 path to acquiring the final 10% will be priced, beyond confirming it remains subject to the original investment terms agreed with Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, according to CAPA.