Lufthansa offers new concessions on ITA Airways deal

Lufthansa Group has offered a new round of concessions to the EU on its acquisition of ITA Airways, according to multiple media reports.

European competition regulators are currently assessing whether Lufthansa’s deal to buy the Italian carrier, which was announced in May 2023, can go ahead. A final decision is due to be made by early July.

The EU has previously said that it has competition concerns that the deal could increase flight prices or “decrease quality” of airline services to and from Italy, including worries about Lufthansa-ITA’s dominance at Milan Linate airport and also on some transatlantic routes.

Italian publication Corriere della Sera has suggested that the EU has already accepted Lufthansa’s latest remedy proposals, which include giving up 15 to 17 daily slot pairs at Linate, as well as allowing competitors to take over some of ITA’s long-haul flights from Rome to North American destinations such as San Francisco, Washington, Chicago and Toronto.

These concessions include another airline starting direct flights from Italy to North America, alongside two competing carriers operating indirect flights from Italy with a stopover in another EU city before travelling across the Atlantic, according to a report by Reuters.