The EU Commission’s competition watchdog signed off on the deal on July 3, 2024, after Lufthansa agreed to a number of conditions and remedies.听聽

Lufthansa Group will purchase the remaining shares with a capital contribution of 325 million euros, which was already agreed in May 2023.   

“The approval from Brussels is excellent news for ITA Airways and Lufthansa and especially for all passengers flying to and from Italy. We look forward to welcoming ITA Airways and its outstanding employees as a new member of our airline family very soon. The decision is also a clear signal for strong air traffic in Europe, which can successfully assert itself in global competition,鈥� said Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Lufthansa Group. 

The new agreement was also welcomed by the (MEF) and ITA Airways with the transaction expected to be finalized in the during the last months of the year.听

The EU said there must be 鈥渇ull compliance鈥� with the remedies and approval given by other competition authorities outside the EU before the deal is finalized. 

Options for the acquisition of the remaining shares in ITA Airways have been agreed between Lufthansa Group and MEF and can be exercised from 2025 at the earliest.听

What were the EU Commission精东影业 concerns?聽

In its report the EU said that Lufthansa and ITA are to a 鈥渟ignificant extent complementary鈥� as they operate from different hubs in Central Europe and Italy, respectively. 

During its investigation, the EU turned to rival airlines, airports, business customers, consumer and passenger associations to gather information.  

The commission was concerned the agreement could reduce competition on a number of short-haul routes connecting Italy with countries in Central Europe, where Lufthansa and ITA are already rivals or could be in the future.  

There was also concern regarding competition on long haul routes between Italy and the US and Canada, as ITA would no longer be a competitor airline to Lufthansa and its joint venture partners United Airlines and Air Canada. 

The commission also expressed worries that the agreement could have 鈥渃reated or strengthened鈥� ITA精东影业 dominance at Milan Linate Airport (LIN) at the detriment of its rival airlines聽聽

The remedies and conditions accepted by the EU

Lufthansa and the MEF submitted a remedy package to the EU to address the commission’s concerns. 

These included making 鈥渁vailable to one or two rival airlines the necessary assets to enable them to start nonstop flights between Rome or Milan and certain airports in Central Europe鈥�. 

Lufthansa and the MEF would also need to ensure that one rival airline has access to ITA’s domestic network to offer indirect connections between certain airports in Central Europe and certain Italian cities other than Rome and Milan. 

To address long haul concerns, Lufthansa and ITA would 鈥渆nter into agreements with rivals to improve their competitiveness on the long-haul routes of concern, for instance through interlining agreements or slot swaps鈥�.   

AT LIN, Lufthansa and MEF will transfer take-off and landing slots to a competitor on short-haul routes.   

Lufthansa and the MEF can only implement the transaction once a suitable airline is found and approved by the commission to takeover the short-haul, long-haul and Milan Linate commitments. 

Until the agreement is finalized, Lufthansa and ITA will remain rivals.  

鈥淒espite the comprehensive and far-reaching concessions, the investment in ITA Airways strengthens the Lufthansa Group’s position in global competition. We will make ITA Airways a strong and successful part of our company and thus secure its future as an international airline and strong brand,鈥� Spohr added. 

On the EU decision, Margrethe Vestager, the Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy at the commission, said that it was 鈥渧ery important to preserve competition in the sector鈥�. 

鈥淲e needed to prevent that passengers end up paying more or end up with fewer and lower quality air transport services on certain routes in and out of Italy. The package of remedies proposed by Lufthansa and the MEF on this cross-border deal fully addresses our competition concerns by ensuring that a sufficient level of competitive pressure remains on all relevant routes,鈥� Vestager added.听

EU likely to greenlight ITA Airways鈥� acquisition by Lufthansa, reports Bloomberg

• Airlines
• Aviation Economics & Finance

byMiquel Ros

2024-06-23

The surcharge is aimed at paying for the increased usage of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and to cover additional costs derived from adjustments to the EU Emissions Trading S ystem (EU ETS) and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).听

The exact amount levied this way will vary by route and fare type and will range from 鈧�1 to 鈧�72 per passenger. The surcharge will be quoted separately from the base fare when purchasing the ticket. 

The EU精东影业 “Fit for 55” program, which was approved by the European Parliament in September 2023, contains the ReFuelEU initiative, which mandates that all European airlines will need to use a minimum of 2% of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2025. This percentage is going to be progressively increased, reaching 6% in 2030 and 70% by 2050. This has forced airlines to scramble to secure scarce supplies of pricier SAF. 聽

When making the announcement, Lufthansa Group reiterated its commitment to investing in sustainable technologies but also acknowledged that it will not be able to face additional costs without raising charges. 

Lufthansa showcases new Allegris cabin on first fitted Airbus A350聽聽

• Airlines

byMiquel Ros

2 minute read

Lufthansa City Airlines, the newest airline in the Lufthansa Group, previously announced in April 2024, that the first flight will depart Munich Airport (MUC) for Birmingham Airport (BHX) and opened reservations.听聽

On June 24, 2024, Lufthansa City confirmed that flight VL2508 will leave MUC at 09:10 on June 26, 2024, and arrive in Birmingham at 10:00.  

“Lufthansa City Airlines is committed to successfully positioning itself in the European short and medium-haul segment from Munich and Frankfurt. A major investment in the future that will strengthen Germany as an aviation location and create numerous attractive jobs,” said Jens Fehlinger, Managing Director of Lufthansa City Airlines. 

The first aircraft will initially fly to Birmingham, D眉sseldorf, Cologne, Hanover and Bremen then from July 27, 2024, the second aircraft, an Airbus A319, will fly to Bordeaux, Hamburg and Berlin.   

After the initial Airbus A320 family aircraft, Lufthansa City Airlines鈥� fleet will be expanded further with the arrival of at least eight more A320neo and more A319s in the coming year.   

In December 2023, the Lufthansa Group placed an order with Airbus for 40 A220-300, and a further 20 purchase options, all earmarked for .听 聽

Delivery of the 40 new aircraft of the A220-300 type ordered will start in 2026.听

Lufthansa City to launch with flights to airports in Germany, France and the UK聽

• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2024-02-28

According to these reports, the final decision on the deal is currently being drafted by European competition officials is expected to greenlight the deal after the German airline group included remedial measures to mitigate potential adverse effects on competition in some key markets. 

The EU精东影业 approval is needed for Lufthansa to be able to move ahead with its plan to integrate the Italian carrier (which succeeded Alitalia as Italy精东影业 flag carrier) into its portfolio of airlines, which already includes SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines Discover Airlines and Eurowings. 

Lufthansa Group acquired 41% of ITA Airways for 鈧�325 million (US$349 million) in May 2023 and has signalled its intention to acquiring the remaining 59% from the Italian state for an additional 鈧�500 million, subject to achieving certain performance indicators by 2026.听

This move prompted an investigation by the European Commission, which subsequently identified several areas of concern, such as the potential competition reduction in key long-haul markets and a likely dominant position at Milan Linate (LIN) airport.听

While the final conditions set up by the European Commission are not yet known, it has been reported that Lufthansa Group had proposed to keep ITA Airways鈥� transatlantic business separate for a number of years as a way to allay the competition watchdog精东影业 concerns.听

This latest maneuvering by the German flag carrier is being seen as a way to diffuse growing tensions over the deal that could be facing an EU veto 鈥� a move that the Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Salvini, has described as a 鈥渟erious attack on Italy, a hostile act,鈥� in comments he allegedly made to news agency ANSA earlier in June 2024.听聽聽聽

According to sources close to the negotiations, EU officials and the airlines involved have been focusing their attention on an apparent lack of competition on long-haul routes between Italy and Germany to North America where regulators do not believe there is adequate competition from other airlines. However, the sources state that Lufthansa has committed to tackling this issue by keeping part of ITA’s business separate for two years. The Commission has asked for a 10-year pledge, according to the sources. 

The negotiations are also focusing on how Lufthansa might ringfence its revenue share from the carrier精东影业 joint venture with United Airlines, with whom it currently aligns on price, capacity, and scheduling on transatlantic routes. The new offer (of separating ITA transatlantic routes) is being seen as the last attempt to answer the Commission’s various concerns over the issue, although the sources told Politico that hopes were not running high for a deal being approved, with one saying that they were “not too optimistic” at this stage of the talks, as they had now 鈥渂ecome political.”聽

Italy has been lobbying the European Commission extensively for the deal to be approved in short order. In September 2023, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that the Commission was 鈥渂locking the solution鈥� her government had put forward, a matter that she said had been 鈥渂rought to the attention鈥� of European Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni who is Italian. 

Equally, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has been pushing hard to get the deal approved, pointing out that many industry analysts believe that ITA Airways will not survive in the long run without a deal being given the green light. However, Margrethe Vestager, the EU精东影业 Commissioner for Competition said that the deal will not be approved unless the 鈥渟erious competition issues cannot be resolved.” 

Lufthansa has become one of Europe精东影业 biggest airline groups in terms of revenue following its purchase of Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines, and SWISS. Since these deals were approved, however, the European Commission has lowered its tolerance of deals between airlines.  

Where once offloading valuable airport slots was often seen to be the easy way around anti-competition concerns, the dynamics of the airline marketplace where airlines are more cautious in their expansion plans (particularly post-pandemic) means that airport slots do not hold as much value as they once might have.听聽聽

Lufthansa Group presents all four 鈥榊es To Europe鈥� aircraft in Brussels: pictures

• Airlines

byLuke Peters

2024-05-14

Lufthansa confirmed on May 23, 2024, that it will be providing direct flights from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Germany to Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) in the capital of Lapland in northern Finland, twice a week over Christmas.听聽

The exciting new festive route will launch from November 30, 2024, leaving Frankfurt for Santa Claus鈥� favorite airport every Tuesday and Saturday.  

Flight LH852 will depart FRA at 08:30 and arrive RVN at 12:50, before flight LH853 leaves RVN at 13:50 and arrives back in Germany at 15:50. 

As well as visiting Santa Claus over Christmas 2024, Rovaniemi is popular for those looking to explore the Arctic Circle and witness the Northern Lights.听聽

In addition to Helsinki, Oulu, Kittil盲, Ivalou and Kuusamo, Rovaniemi is the sixth Finnish destination for Lufthansa. 

精东影业 spoke with Santa Claus who said he was 鈥済reatly looking forward to welcoming Lufthansa passengers from Frankfurt to his home in Lapland this year鈥�.听

Lufthansa will also fly from Frankfurt to Chi葯in膬u, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, in winter. This connection was initially launched in summer 2024.  

Nantes in France can now also be visited from Munich this winter, a destination which was also added in summer.听

All new destinations can be .

Lufthansa Group presents all four 鈥榊es To Europe鈥� aircraft in Brussels: pictures

• Airlines

byLuke Peters

2024-05-14

Through a pilot program, Lufthansa business class customers on certain flights can access Quest 3 headsets during the flight from the cabin crew. The complementary devices will be pre-loaded with a variety of custom content, all of which are designed to operate in Travel Mode which has been specially designed for use in flight. According to the carrier, the content will include movies, podcasts, TV shows, travel and wellness advice, and games. 

According to a Meta statement, passengers will be able to enjoy the following using the Quest 3 headsets on Lufthansa flights.  

• Enjoy an immersive cinema experience with selected movies and TV shows;聽
• Listen to prominent travel podcasters and see their stories come to life through spatial videos and select 360-degree video content;聽聽
• Discover travel destinations from a bird精东影业 eye view with virtual sightseeing previews before arrival;聽
• Play interactive games such as Connect Four and Chess; and聽
• Relax with active meditation exercises or enjoy a passive, lean-back experience.听聽

The new VR headsets are expected to be introduced during the summer of 2024 and will feature on Lufthansa精东影业 fleet of Airbus A350-900 aircraft which are gradually being fitted with the airline精东影业 new Allegris business class product 鈥� recently previewed by 精东影业 here.听

Meta introduced its Quest 3 mixed reality headset in September 2023, described by the company at the time as the world精东影业 first鈥�渕ass-market mixed reality headset鈥�. Quest 3 offers a 30% increase in image resolution and a 40% louder audio range than its predecessor, Quest 2.  

Those passengers who have their own Meta Quest 2 or Quest 3 headsets are also permitted to use their headsets onboard Lufthansa flights once they have selected Travel Mode.  

Though this will be the first time that an airline will offer access to the Quest 3 during a flight, this is not the first time that Lufthansa has been involved in the introduction of virtual reality technology onboard its services.  

In 2017, the airline offered access to an app provided by Google Play via complementary Google headsets to passengers. This app allowed passengers to use their mobile phones to travel to and explore various locations worldwide including Hong Kong or Miami Beach.听

Lufthansa Group presents all four 鈥榊es To Europe鈥� aircraft in Brussels: pictures

• Airlines

byLuke Peters

2024-05-14

In an interview with Switzerland’s , the head of Lufthansa Group commented on Boeing精东影业 failings following the Alaska Airlines plug door blowout and the subsequent ramifications that have seen aircraft production drop.听

鈥淭his is extremely annoying and costs us a lot, a lot of money. However, I am sure that Boeing will get the problems under control. The industry needs two strong providers. Everyone has an interest in Boeing being able to build great aircraft more reliably again soon,鈥� Spohr said.  

When asked if he understood why some passengers were opting to not fly on Boeing aircraft, Spohr dismissed the notion and reiterated the aviation industry精东影业 record for safety. 

鈥淓very day, 30,000 planes take off around the world, multiple times. Around half of them were built by Boeing. Our industry offers by far the highest safety standards compared to other means of transport,鈥� Spohr explained. 

Spohr added that every plane built for Lufthansa, whether it is Boeing or Airbus, is overseen during production to ensure they meet the airline精东影业 standards. 

While there has been much talk about Chinese aircraft manufacturers entering the fold the Lufthansa boss dismissed the airline purchasing planes built in China at least for the next few years. 

鈥淕iven the safety standards that we set at the Lufthansa Group, I don’t think that’s realistic,鈥� he said 

According to Spohr, Lufthansa is receiving a new aircraft every 10 days, including a new long-haul jet every month.  

鈥淭his has never happened before,鈥� Spohr commented. 

Lufthansa Group makes $785M Q1 loss but outlook remains positive for summer 2024聽

• Airlines
• Aviation Economics & Finance

byLuke Peters

2024-05-01

Operated by one of the carrier精东影业 19-strong fleet of Boeing 747-8 widebodies as Lufthansa flight LH456, the aircraft made a standard approach to runway 24R at around midday on the day of operation. However, as the aircraft crossed the runway threshold, the footage appears to show the aircraft making little attempt to arrest its rate of descent or initiate a flare by raising its nose to bleed off any excess airspeed before it touches down. 

The result is a very hard landing with huge amounts of white smoke seen billowing from all four sets of the aircraft’s main landing gear as the top layers of rubber are burnt off by the friction with the runway surface. The aircraft精东影业 triple-slotted trailing edge flaps shudder with the impact, while the spoilers on top of the wing surface appear unsure whether to deploy or not.  

Having bounced following its first landing, the aircraft touches down a second time (veering slightly to the right side) before the nose pitches upwards, the spoilers are retracted, and the engines spool up as the crew decides to abandon the landing attempt and go around for another try. The aircraft is subsequently instructed by Los Angeles Air Traffic Control (ATC) to turn right to avoid the previous departing aircraft one mile ahead of them (an Embraer jet) which can be seen climbing straight ahead in the video.   

鈥淟H456 Heavy鈥� is then ordered to climb to 2,000 ft before being given further instructions to switch radio frequency to Los Angeles Departures. Having made a full right-hand circuit of the airport, the aircraft eventually made a second approach to the same runway some 16 minutes later and touched down without further incident on runway 24R at 12:21 local time. 

According to a Lufthansa statement, flight LH456 was carrying 326 passengers and 19 crew members on board during what was referred to by the airline as a training flight (where one crew member is undergoing 鈥榣ine training鈥� under the supervision of a training captain).  

The aircraft involved in the hard landing (registered D-ABYP and named 鈥楴ordrhein-Westfalen鈥�) was delivered to the airline in June 2014 and carries 364 passengers in a four-class configuration (eight first class, 80 business class, 34 in premium economy, and 244 in economy). It also happens to be the 1,500^th Boeing 747 built and carries a special sticker on its fuselage commemorating this milestone.  

The aircraft was inspected on the ground in Los Angeles and was given the all-clear to return to Frankfurt later that day as LH457. It departed LAX at 16:06 local time and landed in Frankfurt at 11:14 the following morning. 

“Following an assessment by the cockpit crew, a consultation with the technical department on-site and in Frankfurt, and an initial visual inspection, the aircraft flew back to Frankfurt,” the Lufthansa statement added.  

Seemingly unharmed by the balked landing attempt in Los Angeles, the aircraft spent a day on the ground in Frankfurt in the company of Lufthansa engineers who later declared the aircraft fit to fly. The plane was subsequently deployed on a flight to Sao Paulo in Brazil the following day, April 25, 2024.  

Lufthansa showcases new Allegris cabin on first fitted Airbus A350聽聽

• Airlines

byMiquel Ros

2024-04-26

The German airline had unveiled its new premium cabin product publicly in February 2023, but this was the first time that Lufthansa showcased it after installing it on one of its aircraft.听

The aircraft in question in question was an Airbus A350-900 registration D-AIXT, which had been delivered to Lufthansa just a few days prior on April 13, 2024.听

During the event, Lufthansa’s CEO, Jens Ritter, announced that the new Allegris class would be first available on A350-900 long-haul routes out of Munich. Vancouver (YVY) was chosen as the first destination, followed by Toronto (YYZ) and Montreal (YUL) in Canada. Shanghai would be the first destination in Asia, towards August or September, dependent on Airbus鈥� delivery schedule. Chicago and San Francisco would be the first destinations in the US to enjoy access to the Allegris class cabin.听

Although the First Class component of the Allegris cabin has been delayed due to supply chain issues, Lufthansa has decided to launch Allegris with Business, Premium Economy, and Economy class only.

The space at the front where Allegris First Class Suites will be installed have been temporarily fitted with some placeholder economy class seats, which won’t be sold to the public. A 鈥� Lufthansa Allegris First Class Loading鈥︹�� message alluding to the situation has been painted on one of the walls of the front galley.听聽

The airline plans to add First Class suites later on when the aircraft have to go through overhauls. The installation process, Ritter explained, could take up to six weeks, but this won鈥檛 affect the airline financially because it is aircraft downtime that has already been planned.听聽

The Allegris Business Class cabin has a unique feature that allows passengers to choose from five different types of seats, all available in the same cabin. The first is the enclosed mini-suite, followed by the “Throne” seats which occupy the entire central aisle space and are already in use on SWISS business class. Other seat variations include those with an extra-long, 2.20-meter bed, seats with enhanced privacy, and regular business class seats.听

The roll-out of the Allegris Cabin is part of the 鈧�2.5 billion investment program by Lufthansa to upgrade its passenger experience.听聽

At the same event, Lufthansa精东影业 Chief Commercial Officer, Heiko Kreitz, mentioned a few other projects, including the revamping of the airline lounges at several key airports throughout the world and the enhancement of the airline精东影业 inflight entertainment options through the launch of high-quality content such as new city guides. 

Kreitz also highlighted the launch of two signature catering offerings, a particular type of bread whose recipe has been developed so that it can keep its freshness even on long flights in a pressurized cabin environment, as well as a signature cocktail drink called 鈥淎vionic.鈥澛�

After the A350-900s, Lufthansa plans to roll out Allegris across the rest of its long-haul fleet.