Lufthansa Italia S.p.A. was an Italian airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of the German Lufthansa Group headquartered in Milan and based at Milan–Malpensa Airport. Operations started on 2 February 2009 and ceased on 29 October 2011.[1]
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| Founded | 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 2 February 2009 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 29 October 2011 | ||||||
| Operating bases | Milan–Malpensa | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Miles & More | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 9 | ||||||
| Destinations | 18 | ||||||
| Parent company | Lufthansa | ||||||
| Headquarters | Milan, Italy | ||||||
| Key people | Michael Kraus, CEO | ||||||
| Website | italia.lufthansa.com at the Wayback Machine (archive index) | ||||||
History
editFoundation
editOn 28 April 2008 Lufthansa announced plans to commence intra-European flights out of Milan–Malpensa Airport using six Embraer 195 aircraft from its subsidiary Air Dolomiti.[2] On 26 November 2008 the new brand Lufthansa Italia was formed instead of the originally planned Air Dolomiti operations.[1][3] Operations started on 2 February 2009 using the larger Airbus A319-100.[4] The new subsidiary was established to allow Lufthansa to better tap into the lucrative North Italian market that was all but abandoned by Alitalia during a series of cutbacks. The airline's on board cuisine was aimed towards the Italian market, with Italian foods and drinks. For example, in business class, Italian espresso was served.[citation needed]
Shutdown
editOn 23 July 2011, Lufthansa reported in a press release that it would stop all Lufthansa Italia operations by 29 October 2011[5] as it had been proven too difficult to operate the Italian-based operations economically.[6] As a replacement, the Lufthansa Group increased their flights from Italian destinations to their German hubs in Frankfurt and Munich instead.[6] The last scheduled flight of Lufthansa Italia was LH3627 on 29 October 2011, which landed at 16:35, coming from Palermo to Milan-Malpensa, which was flown on the Airbus A319-100 with the registration D-AKNJ. The former Lufthansa Italia aircraft have been transferred back to other Lufthansa Group airlines.[citation needed]
Destinations
editThe following cities were served by Lufthansa Italia prior to its shutdown on 29 October 2011:[7]
| Hub |
| Seasonal |
| City | Country | IATA | ICAO | Airport |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona |  Spain |
BCN | LEBL | Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport |
| Bari |  Italy |
BRI | LIBD | Bari Airport |
| Cagliari | Italy |
CAG | LIEE | Cagliari Airport |
| Casablanca |  Morocco |
CAS | GMMC | Casablanca Anfa Airport |
| Catania | Italy |
CTA | LICC | Catania Airport |
| Ibiza | Spain |
IBZ | LEIB | Ibiza Airport |
| Lisbon |  Portugal |
LIS | LPPT | Lisbon Airport |
| London |  United Kingdom |
LHR | EGLL | Heathrow Airport |
| Madrid | Spain |
MAD | LEMD | Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport |
| Milan | Italy |
MXP | LIMC | Milan Malpensa Airport |
| Naples | Italy |
NAP | LIRN | Naples Airport |
| Olbia | Italy |
OLB | LIEO | Olbia Airport |
| Palermo | Italy |
PMO | LICJ | Palermo Airport |
| Palma de Mallorca | Spain |
PMI | LEPA | Palma de Mallorca Airport |
| Paris |  France |
CDG | LFPG | Charles de Gaulle Airport |
| Prague |  Czech Republic |
PRG | LKPR | Václav Havel Airport Prague |
| Stockholm |  Sweden |
ARN | ESSA | Stockholm Arlanda Airport |
| Warsaw |  Poland |
WAW | EPWA | Warsaw Chopin Airport |
Fleet
edit
The Lufthansa Italia fleet consisted of the following aircraft. All aircraft were given names of Italian cities, such as 'Bologna' and 'Varese', and were painted in a modified Lufthansa livery while retaining their German registrations.
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | |||
| Airbus A319-100 | 9 | 12 | 120 | 132 | taken over from Germanwings and Lufthansa |
| Total | 9 | ||||
References
edit- ^ a b Lufthansa press release: "Lufthansa launches new Lufthansa Italia brand" Archived 2009-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lufthansa press release: "Lufthansa boosts services from Milan" Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Espinoza, Javier. "Lufthansa's Italian Adventure." Forbes. 26 November 2008.
- ^ Lufthansa press release: "Fly Lufthansa direct from Milan to major European cities" Archived 2008-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Lufthansa and Air Dolomiti will take over role of the Lufthansa Italia brand – Air Dolomiti to expand route network". 2011-05-23. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ a b "Rückzug vom Drehkreuz in Mailand - aus für "Lufthansa Italia"".
- ^ "Lufthansa Italia on ch-aviation".
External links
edit
Media related to Lufthansa Italia at Wikimedia Commons
- Lufthansa Italia at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
- Lufthansa Italia at the Wayback Machine (archive index) (in Italian)
- Lufthansa Italia - A New Brand for Italy at the Wayback Machine (archive index) - German version, Italian version linked from English page
