ITA Airways Joining Star Alliance

Lufthansa Group announced that the EU Commission has cleared Lufthansa's acquisition of ITA Airways. Italy's flag carrier will join Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, and Brussels as the fifth main member of the Lufthansa Group (in addition to other smaller subsidiaries). Lufthansa has also negotiated ITA Airways' admission into Star Alliance, meaning the airline will leave SkyTeam. Let's take a look at what Lufthansa's acquisition and ITA Airways joining Star Alliance can mean for award travelers.

Lufthansa Acquiring ITA Airways

Lufthansa had expressed interest in acquiring ITA Airways as far back as 2022 (ITA had just launched operations in the fall of 2021). Italy is a major market for Lufthansa, which it historically has struggled to serve. Under the terms of the deal, Lufthansa will acquire 41% of ITA Airways initially. In addition, Lufthansa has the right to acquire additional shares in ITA Airways, and the German flag carrier plans to eventually acquire 100%. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, at which point ITA will begin to begin cooperating with Lufthansa Group immediately.

The timing of ITA Airways joining Star Alliance is unclear for now. The press release states that “ITA Airways is aiming to join the Star Alliance in the near future.” Meanwhile, ITA Airways will join Lufthansa's Miles & More loyalty program, replacing its existing Volare program.

ITA Airways Joining Star Alliance: What this Means for Award Travelers

Star Alliance is already the largest airline alliance by number of members and has some of the best programs for booking award travel, especially to Europe. ITA Airways joining Star Alliance only boosts the value of programs like Air Canada Aeroplan and avianca lifemiles. Having another Star Alliance option also should make it easier to position between Italy and the rest of Europe. But is making the largest alliance even bigger a good thing for us award travelers?

This is where economies of scale come in. I view ITA Airways' departure from SkyTeam as a bigger blow for SkyTeam redemptions than as a benefit for Star Alliance. This is because we have limited SkyTeam award options between the US and Europe compared to several Star Alliance alternatives.

Currently, we have three reliable options for flying to Europe on SkyTeam carriers with points: Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and ITA Airways. Air France/KLM is by far the most dependable (though not without its own hiccups). It serves tons of destinations in North America, typically offers lots of award availability, and has good award pricing. Virgin Atlantic serves a decent number of destinations in North America and has good award availability, but fuel surcharges are obscene, thereby limiting Virgin Atlantic's utility. Meanwhile, ITA Airways flies to fewer destinations but has decent award availability and at a decent price (whether booked through Air France/KLM Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club). (As for Delta, their award availability is quite bad.)

In contrast, Star Alliance has no shortage of carriers serving North America. These include Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Brussels, TAP Air Portugal, Air Canada, Turkish Airlines, and United Airlines. We have lots of booking options too. Air Canada Aeroplan and avianca lifemiles are by far my favorite options, but we can also redeem through United MileagePlus, Turkish Miles&Smiles, or Singapore KrisFlyer.

The bottom line is that we have no shortage of Star Alliance options when it comes to carriers to fly or programs to redeem with. The same cannot be said for SkyTeam. We're going from three reliable airlines to two.

Sure, Scandinavian Airlines is joining SkyTeam later this year, but it remains to be seen what award availability will look like given their track record of releasing awards.

Ultimately, we don't need another Star Alliance option for flying to Europe at the expense of a SkyTeam option.

What Can We Expect?

When looking at a new airline, loyalty program, or award booking opportunity, I focus on a few factors: the carrier's footprint, award availability, and award pricing (including surcharges). We can deduce a few things from what we know about ITA Airways now and about the Lufthansa Group airlines.

ITA Airways' footprint in North America is quite large for such a new airline. Currently, ITA serves Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles, and Toronto.

For award availability, let's look at both ITA's and Lufthansa's past trends. Historically, ITA Airways has offered decent award availability via SkyTeam partners such as Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. For the most part, award availability seemed to have come in waves.

As for Lufthansa and its airlines, they tend to release a good amount of award availability throughout the calendar year. Historically, they have also released a ton of last-minute award availability within a week or so of travel. That said, the Lufthansa Group airlines have been particularly stingy with award availability during this summer.

Regarding pricing, I think we can expect ITA Airways flights to price the same way as any other Star Alliance award would under existing loyalty programs. Think 63,000 miles for business class via avianca lifemiles, or starting at 60,000 points.

Lastly, I would not expect ITA Airways to engage in any non-alliance partnerships that would offer reciprocal redemptions. Or at least not any partnerships that would be of much use for award travelers. The Lufthansa Group airlines barely have any non-alliance partnerships, and I wouldn't expect ITA Airways to buck that trend.

ITA Airways Joining Star Alliance: ToP Thoughts

Lufthansa Group has received clearance to acquire ITA Airways, which will result in ITA Airways joining Star Alliance. This development is a boost to Star Alliance fans, who will have yet another carrier with which to redeem points. Unfortunately, though, I see this as a big loss for SkyTeam. The alliance has already lagged behind Star Alliance when it comes to redemption options between the US and Europe.

What do you think about ITA Airways joining Star Alliance Come share your thoughts in our Facebook group!

H/T: OMAAT