Italy's flag carrier
Alitalia had been in operation since 1946. It was owned by the
Italian government until 2009 when it became a private company after reorganizing and merging with the bankrupt Italian airline
Air One. Alitalia reorganized again in 2015 after receiving an investment from
Etihad Airways, with
Air France-KLM already owning a minority stake. With multiple failed attempts to make the airline profitable, the airline was placed under extraordinary administration in 2017 just days after Etihad Airways ended its support of Alitalia. On 17 May 2017, after the government ruled out
nationalizing the airline, it was officially put on the auction block. After multiple failed negotiations with
Delta Air Lines,
EasyJet, Italian
railway company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and
China Eastern Airlines, the Italian government took ownership of the airline in March 2020. The government takeover was due in part to the belief the airline would not be able to survive the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its own. On 10 October 2020, the Italian government signed a decree to allow the airline to reorganize as Italia Trasporto Aereo
S.p.A.
2020 On 28 October 2020, it was reported that ITA was expected to buy several assets from Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., including the brand and the flight codes of Alitalia and
Alitalia CityLiner, the
IATA ticketing code (055), the MilleMiglia frequent-flyer program, and airport slots at
London Heathrow (68 weekly slots in summer and 65 in winter). The transaction was expected to cost €220 million.
2021 However, on 8 January 2021, the
European Commission sent a letter to the
Italian Permanent Representative to the European Union calling for Italy to launch an "open, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional tender" to shed Alitalia assets. The letter consisted of 62 requests for clarification, rejecting the idea that the old carrier could sell its assets to the new company with no open bidding. The letter stated that ITA should not retain the Alitalia brand since the brand is an emblematic indicator of continuity. The European Commission suggested that the combined aviation, ground handling, and maintenance businesses should be sold separately to a third party. It also suggested that slots must be sold, and that the MilleMiglia program in its entirety could not be transferred to the new corporate entity. On 26 August 2021, ITA officially opened ticket sales on its newly launched website. On 27 August 2021, ITA applied for an Exemption and a Foreign Air Carrier Permit with the
United States Department of Transportation. The document noted the airline's intention to start flying to
New York-JFK,
Boston and
Miami in 2021,
Los Angeles and
Washington-Dulles in 2022, and
Chicago-O'Hare and
San Francisco in 2023. The same document stated that before the start of its flight operations, planned for 15 October 2021, ITA would acquire certain assets from Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., and that ITA would also participate in a public tender to acquire the "
Alitalia" brand. On 30 September 2021, ITA announced that it would work with
Airbus as a "strategic partner", providing details of its fleet plans. The airline announced a
Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for the purchase of 10 Airbus A330neo, 7 Airbus A220 and 11 Airbus A320neo aircraft, for a total of 28, along with an agreement with
Air Lease Corporation to lease an additional 31 new Airbus aircraft, including the
Airbus A350-900. ITA officially joined the
SkyTeam alliance on 29 October 2021, but for the time being only for one year until new owners have been found and a long-term strategy has been made. Starting on 2 December 2021, ITA started carrying flights with the
Pope when making pastoral and
state visits to a country starting with
Pope Francis, replacing Alitalia for most outbound papal flights. The Pope's flight is often nicknamed "Shepherd One" by the press, while the actual callsign is "Volo Papale" (papal flight, in Italian) followed by a serial number.
2022 It was reported in January 2022 that ITA had acquired the Alitalia brand in the fall of 2021 for €90 million, with plans to resume using the name in some fashion. On 24 January 2022, ITA announced that
MSC Group and
Lufthansa Group had expressed an interest in becoming majority owners of the Italian airline, with the Italian Government keeping a minority stake. On 10 March 2022, fellow SkyTeam members
Delta Air Lines and
Air France-KLM also expressed interest in investing in ITA, by teaming up with investment firm Certares.
Indigo Partners also expressed interest, leaving a total of three interested parties. After the deadline ended on 23 May 2022, only MSC/Lufthansa and Air France-KLM/Certares bid for ITA. As of 31 August 2022, the Italian government has stated their preference for the Air France-KLM/Certares bid, initiating exclusive talks with the group. In its first year of operation, the airline carried 9 million passengers.
2023 On 19 January 2023, Lufthansa Group submitted a bid to the Italian Government to begin acquiring a minority share in the airline, to purchase the remaining shares over an extended period and have the airline join the larger
Lufthansa Group. On 27 January 2023, the Italian government and Lufthansa signed a letter of intent over the sale of a minority stake, paving the way for exclusive negotiations with the German aviation group. On 25 May 2023 Lufthansa Group reached an agreement on the acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA Airways.
2024 The acquisition by Lufthansa Group received approval from the
European Commission on 3 July 2024.
2025 On 17 January,
Lufthansa Group acquired 41% of ITA, making ITA Airways the fifth network airline of the
Lufthansa Group, alongside Lufthansa,
Swiss,
Austrian and
Brussels Airlines. Between 2025 and 2029, there is the option for Lufthansa Group to acquire an additional 49% of ITA, and a further option to acquire the remaining 10% after 2029, making ITA a
wholly-owned subsidiary. On 3 February,
Lufthansa Group and
SkyTeam announced that ITA Airways had left the airline alliance. On 30 March, at the start of the summer schedule, ITA Airways moved its operations at
Frankfurt Airport from Terminal 2 into Terminal 1; and from Terminal 1 into Terminal 2 at
Munich Airport to be under one roof with other
Lufthansa Group and
Star Alliance Airlines. On 2 April, it was reported that ITA Airways has officially received clearance from the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board (CEB) to initiate the integration process into the airline alliance. The expected date of joining would be in early 2026 as a full member. ==Corporate affairs==