Lufthansa Group has acquired a 41% stake in the Italian airline ITA Airways. The remaining 59% will initially continue to be held by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). With today’s transaction, ITA Airways is part of the Lufthansa Group and will be the Group’s fifth network airline.
The two parties had already agreed in May 2023 that Deutsche Lufthansa AG would acquire a minority stake of 41% in ITA Airways. The European Commission had recently approved the participation by approving the remedies on 29 November 2024. Other competition authorities outside the EU have since also approved the participation.
Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said, “We are proud to finally welcome ITA Airways to the Lufthansa Group. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this, especially in Rome, Brussels, Berlin and Frankfurt. The ITA Airways team has written an impressive success story in recent years and, with great energy, passion and expertise, has built an airline that is already the pride of an entire nation. We look forward to continuing this success story of ITA Airways together. With our investment, we will now strengthen the Italian and European aviation market and the position of the Lufthansa Group as number one in Europe. Our joint passengers worldwide will benefit from improved offers and optimized connections as early as this upcoming summer flight schedule.”
ITA Airways (IATA flight number code “AZ”) is a young airline that has been growing since it started operating in 2021. Its modern, environmentally friendly Airbus fleet currently numbers 99 aircraft, including 22 long-haul Airbus A350-900, Airbus A330-900neo and A330-200 aircraft. ITA Airways flies to almost 70 destinations around the world. The airline’s home base is its Rome Fiumicino (5-star Skytrax) and Milan Linate airport. In 2024, the airline welcomed around 18 million passengers on board its aircraft.
Joerg Eberhart has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ITA Airways. He is also a managing member of the Board of Directors of the Italian airline, which is based in Rome. In this role, Joerg Eberhart will take over the tasks previously performed on an interim basis by Antonino Turicchi and Andrea Benassi.
Lorenza Maggio will take over the position of Chief Strategy and Integration Officer (CSIO) and will become a member of the Board of Directors of ITA Airways. In this position, Lorenza Maggio will manage the strategic development of the airline and be responsible for its integration into the Lufthansa Group.
Michael Trestl will be responsible for the holistic integration of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group as ITA Implementation Officer and will transfer from Austrian Airlines to the Group headquarters in Frankfurt for this purpose. Michael Trestl has been a member of the Austrian Airlines Executive Board and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) since 2021.
“I am delighted that we can appoint two managers from our own ranks to the management of ITA Airways: Joerg Eberhart and Lorenza Maggio. With their extensive experience and expertise, they will continue ITA Airways’ successful course and quickly integrate the airline into the Lufthansa Group. With Michael Trestl, an experienced airline manager will take over the integration task in the group,” said Carsten Spohr.
