The U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) has approved a codeshare agreement between Star Alliance member United Airlines and ITA Airways, granting both carriers blanket statements of authorization for reciprocal services.
The approval will enable the two airlines to sell seats on each other’s flights between the U.S., Italy and beyond, subject to regulatory conditions. The move comes as ITA, Italy’s national airline, prepares to transition from SkyTeam to Star Alliance in 2026, following its acquisition by Lufthansa Group.
Under the codeshare agreement, ITA will place its AZ code on United-operated flights, including transatlantic routes and onward U.S. domestic connections from major hubs such as Chicago, San Francisco, Washington Dulles and Los Angeles. In turn, United will add its US code to ITA-operated services between Italy and the U.S., as well as to intra-European and third-country flights operated by ITA.
The codeshare follows a similar agreement between ITA and Air Canada, approved in June, as the Italian carrier strengthens its ties with Star Alliance founding members ahead of its full membership.
The ITA-United agreement comes amid heightened competition in the U.S.-Italy market, which remains one of the most contested transatlantic corridors. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data for the week commencing Aug. 11, 2025, ITA is currently the fourth-largest airline in terms of seat capacity between the two countries, offering 33,766 weekly two-way seats and holding a 16% market share.
The top three carriers are Delta Air Lines (27.3%), United (22.4%) and American Airlines (20.4%). United already serves 11 routes between the U.S. and Italy, including flights to Rome, Milan, Naples, Palermo and Venice from hubs such as Newark, Chicago and Washington Dulles. Overall, there are more than 5.6 million two-way seats between the U.S. and Italy during the summer 2025 season, marking a year-on-year capacity rise of 12%.
Although ITA serves seven U.S. destinations from Rome—Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, San Francisco and Washington—several of United’s major U.S. hubs, including Denver, Houston and Newark, are not yet served by the Italian carrier.
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