The CEO of bankrupt Scandinavian airline SAS, Anko Van der Werff, does not see the carrier’s position in the northern European market as “diminished” by recent market share grabs from the likes of Norwegian Air and Ryanair.
25.08.2023 - 14:22 / skift.com / Delta Air Lines / Giorgia Meloni / Edward Russell / Carsten Spohr / Ita Airways / Airlines
The Lufthansa Group has made an offer to buy a 40 percent stake in Italy’s state-owned ITA Airways, it said Wednesday. The bid comes after a multi-year process, or “beauty contest” as it has been called, to find a strategic partner for ITA, and a dramatic change of fortune for Lufthansa after being counted out last August.
Financial terms of the offer were not made public but Lufthansa said Wednesday that its initial offer for a minority stake includes taking full control of ITA in the future. Italian daily Corriere della Sera has previously estimated the value of the offer to be between $250-260 million (€230-240 million). The German airline group and Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance must next agree to a memorandum of understanding, which would allow exclusive negotiations over the final terms of the deal to begin.
“For Lufthansa Group, Italy is the most important market outside of its home markets and the U.S.,” the airline said in a statement. “Italy’s importance for both business and private travel lies in its strong export-oriented economy and status as one of Europe’s top vacation spots.”
Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr has previously called the group the “natural home” for ITA.
The bid is a change of fortune for Lufthansa. In August, the previous Italian government selected a bid by private equity firm Certares and including commercial agreements with Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines for ITA. However, the new government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni failed to reach a deal with the Certares-led group before the exclusivity period expired on October 31. Air France-KLM has since shifted its takeover interest to TAP Air Portugal.
ITA replaced Alitalia as Italy’s national carrier in October 2021.
The CEO of bankrupt Scandinavian airline SAS, Anko Van der Werff, does not see the carrier’s position in the northern European market as “diminished” by recent market share grabs from the likes of Norwegian Air and Ryanair.
Post-pandemic “revenge travel” is in full swing, and tourists are flocking to Italy in droves like never before: with the country poised to break all tourism records in 2023, visitors–especially from the U.S.–are expected to beeline to Italy over other European destinations for the foreseeable future, to revel in the ineffable magic of la dolce vita.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) offers solid perks for a mid-tier $95 annual fee card.
Jeremy Cornuau, Senior Director of Marketing and Partnerships at Booking.com stated that collaborating with ITA Airways presents a significant avenue for Booking.com to enhance their European customer assistance.
The European Union has upheld France’s landmark climate law that bans select flights on routes where trains are time competitive.
Can airlines reduce the total hydrocarbons they burn? Aviation plays a role in the climate emergency, contributing an estimated 3 percent of the world’s carbon emissions a year.
German flag carrier Lufthansa recently launched an advertising campaign around the FIFA World Cup. As part of the initiative, the airline published a one-minute video short called The Great Swap. A camera swoops around distinct cities, airports, streets,and landscapes, showing the alleged biggest jersey swap of all time.
Steven Udvar-Házy, the co-founder and executive chairman of lessor Air Lease Corporation, believes the airline industry will likely see more consolidation, especially in Europe. Udvar-Házy said at the recent Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas that while he doubts the continent’s low-cost carriers will be involved in any mergers, he sees Italy’s ITA and TAP Air Portugal as takeover targets.
A bid from German carrier Lufthansa for ITA Airways could come early next week, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, in a crucial step to speeding up the full privatization of Italy’s state-owned company.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, December 8. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, January 11, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Two tech startups involved in the travel industry raised $15.3 million this week.