Lufthansa’s decision to lift its stake in ITA Airways to 90 percent is one of the most important European airline ownership moves of the year, because it turns a complicated strategic partnership into something much closer to a fully shaped network play. The deal still needs regulatory clearance before it can close in the first quarter of 2027, but the direction is now unmistakable: ITA Airways is moving deeper into the Lufthansa Group while remaining the Italian flag carrier in brand and positioning.
Why This Deal Matters Now
ITA Airways said Lufthansa will acquire an additional 49 percent stake for 325 million euros, taking its ownership to 90 percent while Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance keeps the remaining 10 percent. That is a much more decisive structure than the earlier minority position, and it matters because minority stakes can create alignment without guaranteeing control. A 90 percent holding points to something else entirely: a future in which network planning, commercial cooperation, and group strategy can be pushed much harder.
That matters especially in Italy, which remains one of the most strategically valuable aviation markets in Europe. Italy is too large, too fragmented, and too internationally important to be treated as a side market. Lufthansa has long needed a stronger answer there, and ITA gives it one with an established Rome and Milan position, a younger fleet, and a brand that can still be sold as distinctly Italian rather than simply absorbed into a German-led group identity.
The Brand Question Has Been Answered More Clearly
One of the most important details in the announcement is that ITA Airways says it will continue to operate under its own brand. That is not a cosmetic point. For an airline trying to build customer recognition inside Italy while also integrating into one of Europe’s largest airline groups, brand continuity is part of the commercial strategy. Lufthansa appears to want the network, the feed, and the group synergies without erasing the national carrier role that gives ITA political and emotional value at home.
That also helps explain why this move is more interesting than a simple ownership headline. The real story is not just who owns how much. It is how far Lufthansa believes it can go by combining group scale with local identity. If that works, ITA can become a stronger carrier for Italy and a more useful southern European pillar for the Lufthansa Group at the same time.
What Fuller Integration Could Unlock
ITA said deeper integration should create further industrial and commercial synergies across the group. In practice, that means more than marketing language. It points toward tighter coordination on schedules, smoother customer connections, broader loyalty relevance, purchasing leverage, and a more coherent role for Rome Fiumicino inside the wider Lufthansa network. ITA has already been moving closer through digital changes and loyalty links, but a 90 percent stake gives those efforts a more permanent logic.
There is also a competitive angle. Europe’s network airline map is increasingly shaped by groups rather than standalone national champions. Air France-KLM, IAG, and Lufthansa all want the scale to defend their hubs, loyalty programs, and long-haul relevance. In that environment, ITA remaining half-inside and half-outside the Lufthansa orbit would have left strategic ambiguity. This move reduces that ambiguity.
What To Watch Next
The deal is not closed yet, and approvals from the European Commission and the US Department of Justice still matter. Even so, the strategic message has already landed. Lufthansa is signaling that ITA is not just a tactical investment. It is a long-term piece of the group’s network future.
For travelers, the most visible changes may still arrive gradually through better connectivity, more coordinated products, and stronger integration across the Lufthansa Group ecosystem. For the industry, though, the meaning is already clearer. Italy’s reference carrier is heading into a new phase, and the balance of power in European aviation is shifting with it.
