To understand the real benefits for Ita passengers who will embark on the alliance with Lufthansa, we will have to wait a few months. Without a doubt, the entrance to the German network, among the most extensive on the planet, will make it possible to reach more than 250 destinations compared to the 55 touched by Ita. But if you add the routes covered by the companies linked to the German giant (Air Dolomiti, Austrian, Brussels, Swiss and Edelweiss, Eurowings, Sunexpress) they reach almost 400.
Therefore, Lufthansa will reap benefits in operational terms of undoubted value. Also because Ita, having left Sky Team, will be part of the Star Alliance, which includes, for example, Air China, Air India, Air Portugal, Asiana, Sas, Tai, Turkish Airlines and American United. In short, the offer will increase significantly also to meet a double-digit demand for air transport.
Ita-Lufthansa, the prices
Only the boom in requests and the desire to travel after the shutdown linked to the pandemic will not bring down ticket prices. On the contrary An average increase of 35% is estimated for the summer season compared to a year ago. A cut that adds to the increases of the last three months which, in some ways, have reached up to 140%. However, much will depend on the commercial policy that Lufthansa and Ita want to adopt to conquer new market shares. But imagining steep reductions seems unrealistic. Also because the price of fuel remains high. However, it must be said that Lufthansa’s number one, Carsten Spohr, has made it clear that the jump in crude could be more than compensated for by synergies in the management of fuel purchases. Not only. Concrete benefits could also come from savings in terms of aircraft maintenance and passenger services such as baggage delivery. In an internal document that Il Messaggero was able to consult, the Germans explicitly foresee that these agreements will guarantee benefits to passengers. Specifically, Ita Airways will also be able to sell tickets for Lufthansa flights and vice versa. With code sharing agreements that will obviously extend to the rest of the German owned companies.
The integrated sales system and a renewed call center will then allow to expand the clientele increasing the turnover of the companies. If the Frankfurt giant has more than 105,000 employees and generated revenues of 33 billion euros in 2022, Ita has a fleet of 69 aircraft and around 4,000 employees. It must be said immediately that Lufthansa pilots and flight attendants earn on average 20 percent more than their Italian colleagues and this despite the recent contract increases. At this point, a negotiation can only be opened to try to align the salaries.
A rebalancing, they make clear from Frankfurt, must be linked to the recovery of productivity. Lufthansa, for its part, said explicitly that it wanted to go ahead with the hiring plan, around 1,200, already planned for this year at the ITA summit. After all, CEO Fabio Lazzerini and his staff gave a strong boost to the Italian company, which, which took off on October 15, 2021, carried more than 10 million passengers and stood at the head of the regularity index with 99.9% and punctuality.
the capacity
By the end of 2027, the Italian company plans to operate 94 aircraft with an average age of five years, which will guarantee the optimization of consumption and environmental impact. The workforce, which is expected to grow to 4,300 this year, will exceed 5,500 by the end of the business plan.
Source : IL Messaggero
