Notification of the Ita Airways – Lufthansa agreement will be sent to Brussels within the next week. This is what Prime Minister Meloni assured on the sidelines of a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The forwarding of the entire dossier by the Italian Ministry of Economy and the German Group will take place then in a matter of days and will then be subjected to a verification procedure by the EU bodies, which will have 30 days to provide feedback and opinion.

In detail, responding to a specific question on the timing of the operation, Meloni explicitly replied: “We are ready to send the notification to the European Commission next week.” Last week the joint appeal from the Italian and German unions arrived at the Commission to close the negotiation as soon as possible.

The agreement provides for the German carrier to pay 325 million euros to gain a 41% stake in the Italian company.

Subsequently, Lufthansa’s share could rise to 90% and 100% (“by 2033”) for a total amount of 829 million euros, completing Ita’s entry into the universe of the Lufthansa Group, which already includes Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, and Air Dolomiti.

During the operation, Ita Airways will exit from the SkyTeam Alliance, where it currently operates together with its old partner Air France-KLM, and simultaneously enter into the Star Alliance, the mega aggregation in which it will operate under Lufthansa. This is a very complex procedure that also includes various international authorizations from Europe to North America.

Ita Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer and CEO Volare, Emiliana Limosani, said: “Growth continues, and in 2024, capacity will increase by 36%.”

Ita Airways is aiming for 2024 to be marked by profitable long-haul connections. Limosani anticipates this future development and growth saying they “will continue next year with an increase in capacity offered by +36%” within which the “great focus [will be] on long haul and especially towards North America where there is still a lot of space, [and] stands out both [for] incoming and outgoing[traffic]; we will open Toronto and Chicago.”

The medium range is also in sight, starting with the Middle East with Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, a highly developing country, and in Africa as well.

Supporting this growth is the parallel expansion of the fleet «which in 2024 will reach up to 96 aircraft (compared to the initial 53). Limosani added that 60% of the fleet will be completely renewed, and there is also a positive trend for the business travel segment. She said: “We have grown by 56% in revenues on the BT side (+67% in Italy and approximately 40% more for the international part). This type of traffic also plays an important role within Volare, «with over 26,000 business travelers who have joined the corporate program.”