United Airways and Italian service ITA Airways will debut a brand new partnership later this month as a part of the latter’s integration into the Lufthansa Group.
The carriers will start a codeshare and loyalty tie-up Sept. 15, ITA mentioned and United confirmed on Tuesday. The pact is a precursor to the Italian airline becoming a member of Star Alliance with United and different airways in early 2026.
ITA is within the technique of exiting the SkyTeam alliance.
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The Lufthansa Group purchased a 41% stake in ITA from the Italian authorities at the start of 2025. The German group is within the technique of integrating ITA, which was fashioned out of the property of Alitalia in 2020, into its portfolio of airways and partnerships, together with with United.
Below the pact, members of ITA’s Volare loyalty program and United’s MileagePlus program can earn and redeem factors on both airline’s flights. Elite members may even have entry to each carriers’ lounges.
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A United spokesperson confirmed that MileagePlus members will earn beneficial standing factors and segments when flying on ITA as nicely.
The codeshare will see ITA inserting its “AZ” code on United-operated flights to pick U.S. airports, together with Dallas Fort Price Worldwide Airport (DFW), Denver Worldwide Airport (DEN) and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). The airways’ shared U.S. gateways embody Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS), Chicago’s O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) and Dulles Worldwide Airport (IAD) close to Washington, D.C.
And in Europe, United will place its “UA” code on sure ITA flights, together with these to Florence Airport (FLR), Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) and Turin Airport (TRN), all in Italy. The service will hook up with ITA at gateways like Brussels Airport (BRU), Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO).
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The ITA-United pact is a precursor to the Italian airline becoming a member of the prevailing three way partnership between Air Canada, the Lufthansa Group and United. A three way partnership is a regulator-approved tie-up the place airways can coordinate all the things from schedules to fares and gross sales in a sure market (on this case, between North America and Europe).
Lufthansa executives, together with Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr, have confirmed the plan to include ITA into the transatlantic pact with out offering a agency timeline.
“If you happen to drive ITA to fly towards all three American carriers, who’re all like 10-times the scale of ITA, and even Emirates that additionally operates on the North Atlantic out of Milan, ITA can have no sustainable future,” Spohr mentioned in 2024.
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