Lufthansa to Drop Lufthansa Italia Brand

Richard Maslen May 25, 2011

As part of the realignment of its operational strategy in the Italian market, Lufthansa has confirmed that its local subsidiary Lufthansa Italia will close this winter, with activities being streamlined under the airline’s own brand and that of its regional airline Air Dolomiti.

The German flag carrier confirms that the brand will “only be retained until the end of the summer timetable on October 29,” when the Airbus A319s it currently flies will “be deployed elsewhere within the Lufthansa Group.” However, despite the closure Lufthansa says it expects double-digit growth in its offering to Italy as Air Dolomiti increases frequencies on its routes connecting the major economic centres in Northern Italy with Lufthansa’s Munich base.

Lufthansa Italia initially launched commercial services from Milan Malpensa on February 2, 2009 offering three times daily flights to Barcelona and Paris. It now has a fleet of eight A319s and serves 17 destinations which are a mix of business and leisure routes including: Stockholm, Warsaw, Budapest, Prague, London Heathrow, Paris (CDG), Madrid, Lisbon, Naples, Cagliari, Olbia, Barcelona, Palma, Bari, Catania, Palermo and Ibiza. Together with its German sister carrier it offers more than 800 weekly flights from Italy, with 73 per cent of these being to its largest German hubs at Frankfurt and Munich.

Earlier this year Lufthansa Italia gained a new lease of life after receiving its Italian Air Operator’s Certificate. Since its launch it had been flying under a German AOC and as a result this had restricted some of the destinations the carrier had been able to fly, but having Italian status the carrier would have been able to operate outside the EU to markets like Turkey and Egypt and to countries that do not have open skies agreements with the EU. This would have opened new opportunities for the carrier, but increased competition, rising costs, declining yields and changes in the dynamics of the market has resulted in this change in direction.

“When we launched Lufthansa Italia three years ago, we filled a gap that had emerged in Milan following Alitalia’s withdrawal from Malpensa and the end of our cooperation with Air One,” explained Christoph Franz, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Lufthansa. “However, given the slump in prices on European routes and the competition, it was extremely difficult to establish a profitable European network under a separate brand. It therefore makes sense to focus the Lufthansa Group’s offering on connecting the Italian market to the Group’s hubs. Bundling our services under the Lufthansa and Air Dolomiti brands will give us a clearer and more streamlined presence in the Italian market.”