ITA Airways on growth path as EU scrutinises Lufthansa deal

ITA Airways plans to offer summer capacity some 24% higher year on year in 2024, with a particular focus on international expansion, as it awaits the European Commission’s ruling on a potential investment from Lufthansa Group. Outlining its traffic and capacity performance on 5 February, the state-owned carrier said it handled 15m passengers in 2023, a 50% rise year on year, on a load factor up five percentage points at 79%. ITA’s predecessor, Alitalia, handled 21m passengers in its last full year of pre-Covid operation, 2019, also on a load factor of 79%. Last year began with Lufthansa Group agreeing to acquire a minority stake in ITA, citing among other things, the “right-sizing” of the Italian flag carrier compared with the Alitalia operation. The European Commission said in January this year that it was launching an in-depth investigation into the deal, citing competition concerns. As that process continues, ITA’s 24% capacity growth in 2024 will be driven by a 43% rise in intercontinental flying, a 30% increase on international routes and a 15% rise on domestic services, it says. “Our growth goes hand in hand with the recovery of tourism, which is approaching pre-pandemic levels,” says ITA CCO Emiliana Limosani. The carrier notes that it is launching long-haul flights from Rome Fiumicino to Chicago and Toronto this year, as well as new services to destinations in Africa and the Middle East. ITA’s 56 destinations this summer comprise 16 domestic, 26 international and 14 intercontinental, it says. Alitalia served around 100 destinations in 2019. The carrier plans to “gradually resume” flights to Tel Aviv in the summer season, it adds, after they were suspended last year amid security concerns relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict.<br/>