Brussels’ (conditional) green light for Ita-Lufthansa wedding awaited

Tomorrow morning the EU Antitrust Authority should announce the green light, presumably with some requirements, to the sale of the first package of shares of Ita Airways to Lufthansa. One day before the deadline for the decision set for July 4th. After six months of negotiations between the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which owns 100% of the former Alitalia, the two airlines and the European Competition Authority, led by Margrethe Vestager,for a couple of weeks now it has been reported by several sources that a compromise has been found in the sale of around twenty slots at Linate airport and in the imposition of some restrictions on the routes from Fiumicino to North America.

Immediately after the announcement from Brussels, the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti,the president of Ita Airways Antonino Turicchi and the CEO of Lufthansa Carsten Spohr They will hold a press conference at the Mef headquarters. Then it will take a couple of months to further define the details.

A first step towards the definitive transfer

It has been 14 months since the Mef and Lufthansa, the third largest airline globally, reached an agreement for the sale of 41% of Ita for a price of 325 million. An agreement as a first step towards the definitive sale of the carrier in the portfolio of the German group, which already includes Austrian, Brussels, Swiss and Eurowings.

Almost three years after the creation of Ita from the Alitalia’s energetics – the national airline that for decades has made Italians fly and accumulated huge debts, receiving around 10 billion euros in state loans between the mid-1970s and 2019, – the Italian carrier thus finds its strong industrial partner. This is a marriage already sought previously, the last time in 2019, after the path of an agreement with the other European aviation giant Air France had been attempted at the beginning of the 2000s.

The reliefs of Europe

The two companies notified the sale operation to Brussels on November 30, 2023. In the last six months, however, the EU Commission has raised several concerns about the operation in terms of competition, especially those departing from Milan Linate and Fiumicino. Because, with the purchase of Ita, Lufthansa will increase the concentration of routes in its portfolio. The confrontation, according to what has leaked out in recent months, has not been without harshness.

Ita could initially be barred from entering the joint venture that links the German carrier with United and Air Canada for North America. While on the European market, Ita/Lufthansa could cede up to about twenty slots at Linate to promote competition. Several low-cost carriers, from EasyJet to Ryanair and WizzAir could be interested in acquiring the slots left free by the two companies at Italian airports.

With the purchase of the company with the blue-liveried planes, Lufthansa aims to gain space in what it considers the most important market outside of domestic flights and the United States, due to the strong tourist flows towards Italy. Ita for its part needs a strong industrial partner to continue on its growth path, with the government having supported the operation. The Italian company could become a carrier

The Italian domestic commercial aviation market is expanding, with Ryanair leading the way in terms of passenger numbers for several years. Last year, a new record was recorded for Italian airports, which in 2023 reached 197.2 million passengers for the first time, exceeding 2019 by 2.1%, the year of the previous record, which was not yet affected by the subsequent pandemic crisis.