Sale of ITA Airways to Lufthansa, EU stalls: 'verdict only in June'
It was in the air and now it is official, the marriage between ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group, if it will take place, will come not [...]
Lufthansa
ITA Airways
Star Alliance
SkyTeam
It was in the air and now it is official, the Marriage between ITA Airways and Lufthansa Group., if it is to be done, it will come no earlier than summer. The dossier stopped at the European Antitrust Authority is thus passed to Phase 2, or that of in-depth verification.
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The commission now has other 90 working days, then until June 6, to reach a final decision. After Phase1 investigations and despite the extra time required Brussels believes that "the transaction could reduce competition" on "several short- and long-haul routes."
ITA Airways will therefore have to wait until the eve of the summer period to see whether it will join the Lufthansa Group or not. The EU has banned the Italian government from any public intervention, read loan or cash injection, into the company in these 90 days. ITA will therefore have to fend for itself, although after the winter this is the period in which the bookings of the rich summer period begin to arrive and therefore it is likely that the blue carrier will not need liquidity, or if need be will be able to find a solution from the market.
With the summer season now defined, routes for sale, and new planes on the way, ITA management has only to wait.
It also changes little for Italian frequent flyers, the transition to Star Alliance would not begin until 2025 anyway And however things turn out, the transition to the new alliance will last for months, as explained by former ITA number 1 Lazzerini. The timing is also perfect for Volare, ITA's loyalty program points collection is due for renewal in October this year, by which time the situation will hopefully have cleared up.
