ROMA – There is the official agreement for Lufthansa to join Ita Airways. Anticipated by the presence of Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa, in Rome and from the words of his interlocutor, the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti, who had announced “news during the day”, the white smoke therefore arrived in the afternoon (even if the signature is still missing).
With the green light to the preliminary contract, the German group enters the capital of Ita Airways, with a 41% stake. It was via XX Settembre to announce the official nature of the agreement which leads the German company to take over a minority stake “after having already shared the company’s business plan”.
The Plan envisages revenue growth of 2.5 billion euros expected for this year and 4.1 billion euros for 2027″. In addition to Giorgetti and Spohr, the president of Ita, Antonino Turicchi was also at the meeting.
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Now the Brussels exam
The official passages they now foresee the go-ahead from the Court of Auditors, from the Italian Antitrust and notification to the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Union.
“Ita Airways’ development strategy will continue to be shared by the two shareholders (Mef and Lufthansa)”, says the Treasury. “These results will enable the growth and renewal of the fleet, which at the end of 2027 will count 94 aircraft compared to the current 71with an average age of 5 years”,
And again: “The workforce, which this year should grow to 4,300 employees thanks to the 1,200 hirings being finalised, it will rise to over 5,500 units at the end of the Plan“.
The role of Fiumicino
The note mentions the main strategic directions of the new ITA: “It aims – they say – to establish itself as protagonist among full service carriers in the three intercontinental, international and domestic sectorswith particular attention to long-haul traffic”.
A strategy, assures the Treasury, which “will also make it possible to further strengthen the traffic of the hub Rome Fiumicino“, destined for a central role in the multi-hub model of the Lufthansa Group”.
Ita will remain “our country’s reference airline” and will continue “to proudly represent Italy in the world, ensuring connections within the country and with the rest of the world, supporting the development of tourist and commercial flows“.
Dice Giorgetti to seal the deal. “Today marks the end of a journey in the history of the national flag carrier, which has led to the prospect of integration with an important European carrier”.
The interest of the country
“With this government, today a knot that has been conditioning the air transport market in Italy for thirty years is being resolved. We are convinced that this decision will allow the aviation market to develop in Italy’s interest“.
Spohr instead he speaks of “a win-win situation for Italy, Ita and the Lufthansa Group”. Anticipating the competitive issues facing the EU, the CEO says that “a stronger ITA will reinvigorate competition in the Italian market. As a young company with a modern fleet and an efficient and growing hub in Rome, ITA is perfect for the Lufthansa Group”.
But Spohr does not forget Milan, where “Ita serves a strong catchment area that also offers growth potential. As part of the Lufthansa Group family, Ita can develop into a sustainable and profitable airline, which connects Italy to Europe and the world. At the same time, this investment will allow us to continue our growth in one of our most important markets.”
Agreement on the amount
In recent weeks, the negotiations between the Italian government (which sells) and Lufhansa which buys have focused on the money that the Germans will have to pay. If Lufthansa played on the downside for a long time, now he would have agreed to pay an amount close to 325 million euros.
The figure is quite presentable and allows the Italian government, with a nationalist profile, to deny a clearance sale of the state airline, born from the ashes of Alitalia.
In turn the government is ready to inject 250 million euros into Ita. It’s the last figure – he clarifies the decree regulating privatization – which it can transfer to the carrier without meeting the veto of the EU (which strictly regulates state aid).
Speaking of the political presentability of the agreement, in the last few hours our executive has asked to keep it a minimal share in Ita even when (between 2025 and 2026) the Germans will get the vast majority of shares.
Such a scenario would allow us to say that the flag of Italianness will not be completely lowered in the civil aviation sector.
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