Lufthansa Italia

Summary

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]

Lufthansa Italia
IATA ICAO Callsign
LH LIT MIRACOLO
Founded2008
Commenced operations2 February 2009
Ceased operations29 October 2011
Operating basesMilan–Malpensa
Frequent-flyer programMiles & More
AllianceStar Alliance (affiliate)
Fleet size9
Destinations18
Parent companyLufthansa
HeadquartersMilan, Italy
Key peopleMichael Kraus, CEO
Websiteitalia.lufthansa.com at the Wayback Machine (archive index)

History edit

Foundation edit

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.

Shutdown edit

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.

Destinations edit

 
Four Lufthansa Italia Airbus A319-100s at their homebase at Milan–Malpensa Airport in 2009

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

Fleet edit

 
Lufthansa Italia Airbus A319-100

The Lufthansa Italia fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

Lufthansa Italia fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A319-100 9 12 120 132

Five of the airline's aircraft came from Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings, and the other five came from Lufthansa's base at Munich. All aircraft were given names of Italian cities, such as 'Bologna' and 'Varese', and were painted in a modified Lufthansa livery. The aircraft retained their German registrations. In 2010, the airline planned to replace one A319 with two Airbus A320, but this never occurred. Two of the five daily flights to London were operated by a British Midland International Airbus A321 in a 31/118 configuration.[citation needed]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Lufthansa press release: "Lufthansa launches new Lufthansa Italia brand" Archived 2009-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Lufthansa press release: "Lufthansa boosts services from Milan" Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Espinoza, Javier. "Lufthansa's Italian Adventure." Forbes. 26 November 2008.
  4. ^ Lufthansa press release: "Fly Lufthansa direct from Milan to major European cities" Archived 2008-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ a b "Rückzug vom Drehkreuz in Mailand - aus für "Lufthansa Italia"".
  7. ^ "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