Tom Batchelor considers the ramifications of Lufthansa’s recent deal with ITA Airways
For more than a decade, the battle to be crowned Europe’s largest airline has been fought by two airline groups: Ryanair and Lufthansa. Since the 2008 financial crash, Lufthansa has claimed the top spot more often than the Irish low-cost carrier, but in recent years Ryanair has led the pack. That hierarchy looks set to continue in 2023. Still, Lufthansa is intent on growing its European footprint, including most recently through the acquisition of loss-making Italian flagship ITA Airways (Italia Trasporto Aereo), the successor of Alitalia.
Lufthansa Group operates what it calls a “multi-brand and multi-hub system” which, before the ITA deal, comprised half-a-dozen airlines, including the eponymous German national airline, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines and Italian regional subsidiary Air Dolomiti, alongside SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. The May 2023 acquisition of a stake in ITA Airways puts the group firmly at the heart of the Italian aviation sector, enabling Luft…
