Star Alliance officially welcomed ITA Airways as its newest member, marking the completion of the Italian carrier’s integration into the world’s largest airline alliance. ITA Airways marked its entry into the Alliance during a ceremony held at the Piazza di Spagna Lounge, Rome Fiumicino Airport Terminal 3. The ceremony was presided over by ITA Airways Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Joerg Eberhart, Star Alliance Chief Executive Officer Theo Panagiotoulias, and Lufthansa Group Chief Commercial Officer Dieter Vranckx, in the presence of media and institutional guests.

The integration of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group is already bringing tangible benefits to passengers across the globe. The Lufthansa Group’s recent participation in ITA Airways is ushering in a host of improvements that passengers can enjoy shortly after the transition. During a press conference in Rome, key leaders, including Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Sandro Pappalardo, Chairman of ITA Airways, and Joerg Eberhart, CEO of ITA Airways, unveiled the first steps of the integration, highlighting key advantages for travelers.

ITA Airways has taken delivery of its first A321neo on lease from Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) from Airbus’ Hamburg production facilities. This latest addition further consolidates ITA Airways’ all-Airbus fleet strategy, which currently stands at 81 aircraft, and includes latest generation A220, A320neo, A330neo and A350 aircraft.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG have reached an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, MEF) to acquire a minority stake in the Italian national carrier ITA Airways (Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A.). Lufthansa will obtain a 41 percent stake in ITA for EUR 325m through a capital increase.

ITA Airways has chosen Amadeus’ technology to support its ambitious development plan. The migration is expected to be completed by early 2023.

ITA Airways and airBaltic are starting codeshare cooperation that will open new and wider travel opportunities to travellers. airBaltic customers will benefit from convenient access to destinations in Italy.