Days after the Lufthansa Group closed its purchase of 41% of Italy's ITA Airways, the group began the process of combining with the airline.

The full integration of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group is already underway, with the Italian carrier also set to join Star Alliance in 2026.

Germany's Lufthansa will start making money from its investment in ITA Airways from this year, the chief executive of the German carrier, Carsten Spohr, said on Monday.

Lufthansa Group is ramping up efforts to integrate new member airline ITA Airways, starting with merging frequent flyer programmes.

With the completion of Lufthansa Group’s investment in ITA Airways, passengers will soon feel the benefits of the integration, such as the use of frequent flyer

ITA has announced its resignation from SkyTeam, its Star Alliance membership plans and reciprocal benefits with Miles & More under its new Lufthansa ownership.

The Lufthansa Group has begun its commercial integration with Italian carrier ITA Airways. The move follows Lufthansa's finalized purchase of 41% of ITA last month for 325 million euros and ITA's formal entry into the Lufthansa Group, where it joined fellow network carriers Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels.

There is scope for further consolidation in the European airline sector, the chief executive of Germany's Lufthansa said on Monday, having just bought a 41% stake in Italy's state-owned ITA. "We have too many airlines in Europe.

Lufthansa Group remains a minority shareholder in Italy’s national carrier, but it’s already leveraging the benefits of its 41% stake.