ITA Airways takes another step towards becoming part of the Lufthansa Group. The strategic Europe Japan Joint-Venture of Lufthansa Group (LHG) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) will be expanded to include ITA Airways by the Lufthansa Group as of autumn of this year. A corresponding agreement was signed the previous day at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro (June 6-8).

The Italian airline’s entry into the largest Joint-Venture between Europe andJapan will enable deeper cooperation in many key areas. It will include the European network of ITA Airways, including Italy domestic and the Maghreb as well as its long-haul route between Rome-Fiumicino and Tokyo-Haneda.This complements the existing scope of the Joint-Venture in Italy with thecurrent ANA connection from Tokyo-Haneda to Milan-Malpensa.

The focus is on ITA Airways’ hub, Rome-Fiumicino Airport. From there, Italy’s flagship carrier offers a daily non-stop flight to Tokyo-Haneda. Both airports have been awarded the highest possible rating of five stars by Skytrax.Starting this autumn, this intercontinental flight can be booked by customers of ANA, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and SWISS and can be flexibly combined with their own flights. Additionally, the provision of a joint offer will roll outsequentially from autumn 2026 onwards. The customers will be informed oncethis possibility is offered.

Since the Joint-Venture also includes feeder flights operated by ITA Airways to Rome, travelers to or from Japan now have additional connecting options.Especially for destinations in Southern Europe, the Mediterranean region, and North Africa, the flight times to and from Japan via the southern hub in Rome will be shorter. Beyond Tokyo-Haneda, ANA offers ITA Airways passengersnumerous on ward connections with its domestic network in Japan. All passengers can also use the respective lounges in Rome and Tokyo. Tickets as well as the loyalty programs of both airlines are mutually recognized.

The Europe Japan Joint-Venture was founded in 2012 by Lufthansa and ANA. In the following years, SWISS and Austrian Airlines also joined. Since then, this joint project has enabled deeper cooperation and coordinated product planning. The necessary antitrust approval (antitrust immunity) was granted by Japanese authorities several weeks ago. As part of this Joint Venture, theparticipating airlines can coordinate their flight schedules to better distribute departure times throughout the day. Customers of all five participating airlines will find a coordinated and comparable range of services and products on their flights between Japan and Europe. With the ability to combine all long-haul flights with full flexibility, including regional feeder flights at both Tokyo-Haneda and five Lufthansa Group hubs, passengers have significantly more travel and connection options. Between Europe and Japan alone, this Joint-Venture now offers a choice of 160 weekly long-haul flights.

Juichi Hirasawa, President and CEO of All Nippon Airways, said: “As weapproach the 15th anniversary of our JointVenture next year, our long-standing partnership with Lufthansa Group has allowed us to offer our passengers a seamless and high-quality travel experience between Japan and Europe. With ITA Airways joining us to open up the gateway to Rome, we look forward to offering travelers exceptional service and even more convenient access to Italy, Southern Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond".

Joerg Eberhart, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of ITA Airways, said: “We are very proud to join the Europe Japan Joint-Venture together with ANA and Lufthansa Group. This agreement represents a key milestone in the international development of ITA Airways and further strengthens the airline’s connectivity to the Asia-Pacific region, an area of major strategic importance. We thank our partners Lufthansa Group and ANA for this important opportunity, which will allow us to offer our customers more travel options, more efficient connections, and an increasingly integrated travelexperience".