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In January 2025, Lufthansa Group acquired a 41% stake in ITA Airways. As many had speculated would happen after the deal was announced, ITA Airways is officially leaving SkyTeam and moving to Star Alliance — a group heavily dominated by Lufthansa Group airlines like Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines.
The transition won’t be immediate, and there are still many moving pieces. Here’s your one-stop guide for everything we know so far about ITA Airways' shift to Star Alliance.
Background: ITA Airways’ Journey from SkyTeam to Star Alliance
ITA Airways is a relatively young airline, having launched in 2020 as the successor to the bankrupt Alitalia. ITA joined SkyTeam in 2021, continuing Alitalia’s legacy within the alliance.
However, its integration with SkyTeam partners was sluggish. While you could earn and redeem Delta SkyMiles, Virgin Points, and Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles for ITA flights, other partnerships were somewhat limited. The airline also allowed point transfers with Accor Live Limitless, but outside of a handful of redemption partners, ITA mostly functioned as an independent entity.
On January 18, 2025, Lufthansa Group sealed the deal and acquired its 41% share in ITA Airways. The remaining 59% is still owned by the Italian government — at least for now.
When is ITA Airways Exiting SkyTeam?
ITA Airways’ departure from SkyTeam kicked off on February 3, 2025, but the full exit will be finalized by April 30, 2025. After that date, ITA Volare points will no longer be redeemable on SkyTeam airlines unless specific bilateral agreements remain in place.
According to a press release from SkyTeam, ITA does have bilateral agreements with Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Korean Air, MEA, Saudia, and Virgin Atlantic. The ending of those agreements wouldn't necessarily be on the same SkyTeam timeline, but they might follow suit soon.
The press release announcing the news mentioned that ITA Airways will not immediately join Star Alliance. Instead, it will join sometime in “early 2026.” The good news is new owner Lufthansa Group is allowing ITA Volare members to immediately earn and redeem miles on Lufthansa Group airlines Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, and Brussels Airlines. In the opposite direction, Lufthansa Miles & More members can earn and redeem on ITA Airways immediately as well.
ITA Airways airport operations to be streamlined
Naturally, Lufthansa is making adjustments to ITA Airways operations to better align with their existing business. Here are some of the changes, beginning March 30, 2025:
- ITA Airways will now operate out of Lufthansa terminals in Frankfurt and Munich.
- Premium cabin travelers traveling on ITA and Lufthansa Group will be able to use each airline's lounges.
- Codeshares with 11 airlines will be sold starting February 25, 2025, for flights beginning March 30, 2025.
- All flights between Lufthansa Group hubs will be aligned to better connections during daily operations.
Delta SkyMiles members will be unaffected for now
This week, Delta updated its partner page to clarify that:
“Effective April 30, 2025, ITA Airways will be leaving SkyTeam Alliance, however, there is no anticipated impact to our customers at this time. SkyMiles Members can continue to earn miles and earn towards Medallion Status on ITA Airways-marketed, ITA Airways-operated flights based on the percentages in the table below, multiplied by the flight distance.”
So, that means you'll continue to be able to earn and redeem Delta miles when flying ITA Airways for the foreseeable future.
What We Don't Know Yet About ITA Leaving SkyTeam
For one, we don't know an official date for joining Star Alliance. This would open up a lot of partners for existing ITA Airways Volare members. In addition, we don't know when bilateral agreements between SkyTeam airlines might end.
ITA and Lufthansa elites are left in limbo
It's also unclear from the press release whether Lufthansa Miles & More and ITA Volare elites will receive access to premium lounges. While premium cabin flyers will receive reciprocal access, ITA Airways elites will be very curious to know what partner lounge access they might have before joining Star Alliance. I presume the airlines will provide more news on this topic once airport operations are aligned.
Future ITA partnerships
It's also possible that ITA may partner with other airlines outside of Star Alliance during this transition period. While not common, we've seen airlines like Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan maintain unique partnerships after joining an alliance.
While we wait for ITA Airways to join Star Alliance, we won't know what earning and redemption rates are for respective alliance partners. This will be especially important for those planning Summer 2026 travel to Italy.
Final Thoughts
It was an assumption that ITA Airways would eventually join Star Alliance. We know integrations take time, but the speedy exit from SkyTeam without a more immediate plan for ITA flyers to earn on Star Alliance partners has to sting a bit. We'll see if the integration timeline can be completed sooner than early 2026.
Overall, once ITA Airways joins Star Alliance, flyers will enjoy many options of strong partner airlines to fly with their hard-earned points. Plus, Star Alliance members will be excited to enjoy more direct flights to the uber-popular destination of Italy in 2026.
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