ITA Airways abandons Etihad-leased Heathrow slots

ITA Airways takes first A330-900

ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) took delivery of the first of its seventeen A330-900s on May 26, 2023.

EI-HJN (msn 2035) was delivered directly from the Airbus facility at Toulouse Blagnac to Rome Fiumicino. It is the first of ten A330-900s the carrier will take from the manufacturer in addition to a further seven units on due from lessors, including five from Air Lease Corporation and two from AerCap/GECAS, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. EI-HJN is ALC-owned.

The carrier will outfit its A330-900s with 291 passenger seats, including 201 in economy class, 36 in comfort economy, 24 in premium economy, and 30 in business class.

ITA Airways will use the A330-900s to replace its eight A330-200s inherited from Alitalia which are 13.1 years old on average.

The Italian carrier, which is set to be minority-owned by Lufthansa Group, is in the process of renewing and growing its legacy post-Alitalia fleet. It plans to operate seven A220-100s (none delivered...

Lufthansa to buy 41% of Italy’s ITA for €325mn

Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) and Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance have struck a deal on the future of ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) following weeks of negotiations that began in January but were extended beyond their initial deadline of April 24. The German flag carrier announced on the evening of May 25 that it will initially buy a 41% stake in its state-owned Italian counterpart.

It will pay EUR325 million euros (USD349 million) for the minority stake through a capital increase, which is more than the amount sources close to the talks had previously reported. Lufthansa at first proposed, unnamed Italian government sources told the newspaper Corriere della Sera earlier this week, an investment of EUR250 million (USD268 million), but the figure rose during the extended negotiations.

As part of the new agreement, the ministry has also itself committed to a capital increase of EUR250 million (USD268 million) into ITA.

In addition, the German and Italian sides “agreed on options to enable a potential acquisition of the remaining shares by...

Lufthansa plots full ITA Airways stake by 2H26 - report

Negotiations discussing Lufthansa’s acquisition of a 40% stake in ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) have been extended to May 12, but the talks are on the right track and an announcement is now expected in the first week of May, sources have told the newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance and the German airline agreed to extend their exclusive talks, begun in late January, over the sale of Alitalia’s nationalised, loss-making successor from the previous deadline of April 24. Lufthansa has not given any details or a new date for when a contract could be signed, with a spokesman merely saying that “the talks are on track but not yet concluded.”

A month ago, the newspaper’s government sources claimed that an agreement could close as early as April 19. Now they define the last elements to be signed off on - which caused the deadline extension - as “non-essential”.

Lufthansa is also looking to secure options for a later complete takeover of ITA Airways. Two government sources...

Auctions to hawk Alitalia assets MilleMiglia, B777, engines