Ita Airways – Lufthansa and MSC want to take over airline Ita – News


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Barely founded, already taken over: Alitalia’s successor company is to change hands.

History seems to be repeating itself: as was the case with Swiss almost twenty years ago, which emerged from the bankrupt Swissair, Lufthansa is showing interest in Ita Airways, which was newly founded by the Italian state on the remains of Alitalia. Only this time it’s much faster.

Just a few months after the launch of Ita, a majority stake could be acquired, and this time Lufthansa is not alone. The main driver of the takeover seems to be the Swiss-Italian shipping company MSC. The world’s largest container shipping company – based in Geneva – is looking to gain a foothold in air freight, an area that has thrived during the pandemic.

Italy is a tough place

It is currently unclear what exactly the participation should look like, whether Lufthansa is only getting involved as a commercial partner without financial risks. MSC, Lufthansa and Ita want to review the conditions over the next 90 days.

One thing is clear: Italy is not an easy market – low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Wyzz are well established on short-haul routes, and the high-speed rail network is also attractive. And as a Lufthansa partner or subsidiary, Ita also has to measure up to strong competition from the USA and the Middle East on long-haul routes. So it remains to be seen whether Lufthansa will write a similar success story with Ita as it has done with Swiss.

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