Italian airline ITA Airways has marked its official accession to Star Alliance, which will become effective on April 1, 2026.
ITA Airways’ CEO and Chairman, Jörg Eberhart and Sandro Pappalardo, respectively, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of the Lufthansa Group, Dieter Vrancx and Star Alliance CEO, Theo Panagiotoulias marked the occasion with an event at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport (FCO), in which they all highlighted the significance of this moment for the world’s largest airline alliance.
The executives highlighted that one of ITA Airways’ main contributions to both the German-led airline group and Star Alliance is its “Italianness”, understood as a sense of sophistication and style that is rooted in Italy’s rich cultural heritage and traditions, as encapsulated by the “Made in Italy” label which is a sign of pride in many industries.
Another element that was noted by all the speakers is that the integration of the Italian carrier into the Lufthansa Group has been significantly swift.
“It took us 10 years to integrate our first major acquisition, SWISS, and seven years to fully integrated Austrian Airlines. With ITA Airways it has only been 18 months,” said Vrancx, who also praised the professionality of the airline’s staff.
In 2025 ITA Airways posted a profit of €209 million, which translated into a €90 million contribution to the full year results of the Lufthansa Group. The German airline group currently owns a 41% in the Italian carrier, although it has already signaled its intention of increasing it to 90%, as per the terms of its investment.
The fact is that ITA Airways also brings to the table a prominent presence in Europe’s fourth largest air travel market. Panagiotoulias, Star Alliance’s CEO, mentioned that 17 of the alliance’s airlines fly to ITA Airway’s gateways in Italy, although, he stated, “besides connecting networks, we are all about making multi-airline journeys seamless and frictionless”.
One of the areas in which ITA Airways passengers will be able to immediately notice the entry into Star Alliance will be the integration of the Italian carrier into the Lufthansa Group Miles & More program, effective also from April 1, 2026. ITA Airways’ current Volare loyalty program is being discontinued.
ITA Airways has also celebrated its accession to Star Alliance by painting one of its aircraft, an Airbus A321neo, with the alliance logo. The specially liveried aircraft was unveiled before the Star Alliance accession ceremony.
