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Founded | 2008 | ||||||
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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) |
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]
On 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]
On 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]
The 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 |
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 |
Media related to Lufthansa Italia at Wikimedia Commons