Lufthansa Italia

Lufthansa Italia
Airbus A319-100
IATA ICAO Call sign
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)

Lufthansa Italia S.p.A. was an Italian airline, wholly owned subsidiary of the German Lufthansa Group, headquartered in Milan and based at Milan–Malpensa Airport.[1] Operations started on 2 February 2009 and ceased on 29 October 2011.

History

Foundation

On 28 April 2008 Lufthansa announced plans to launch intra-European flights out of Milan–Malpensa Airport using six Embraer 195 aircraft made available by its subsidiary Air Dolomiti.[2] Instead of the originally planned Air Dolomiti operations the new brand Lufthansa Italia was announced on 26 November 2008.[1][3] The 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. Operations started on 2 February 2009 to exclusively international destinations using Airbus A319-100.[4] The airline's on board cuisine was aimed towards the Italian market, with Italian foods and drinks. For example, in business class, Italian espresso coffee was served. On March 4th, the opening of the first three domestic routes to Rome, Naples and Bari was announced.

Mixed results

On February 16, 2010, the airline discontinued the route to Rome-Fiumicino due to passenger numbers not meeting expectations. To compensate for the closure of the routes to Brussels and Rome, three new destinations became operational on March 28, while three seasonal routes were inaugurated the following summer. On July 21, Lufthansa Italia announced two new destinations: Catania and Prague, which would be opened coinciding with the 2010/2011 winter season. However, on September 3, Catania was removed, and Bucharest became a seasonal destination. Instead, the route to Naples (initially scheduled twice daily) was increased to three daily frequencies.

Shutdown

On 23 July 2011, German Lufthansa issued a press release announcing that it would stop all Lufthansa Italia operations by 29 October 2011[5] as it had been proven too difficult to run the Italian-based operations economically.[6] As a replacement, the Lufthansa Group increased their flights from Italian destinations to their German hubs of Frankfurt and Munich instead.[6] The last scheduled flight of Lufthansa Italia, from Palermo to Milan-Malpensa, occurred on 29 October 2011. The former Lufthansa Italia aircraft were transferred to other Lufthansa Group airlines.

Destinations

The following cities were served by Lufthansa Italia prior to its shutdown:[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
Rome  Italy FCO LIRF Rome Fiumicino Airport
Stockholm  Sweden ARN ESSA Stockholm Arlanda Airport
Warsaw  Poland WAW EPWA Warsaw Chopin Airport

Fleet

Airbus A319-100

All Lufthansa Italia aircraft were given names of Italian cities, such as "Bologna" and "Varese", and were painted in a slightly modified Lufthansa livery while retaining the German registrations.

Lufthansa Italia fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A319-100 9 12 120 132 taken over from Germanwings and Lufthansa
Total 9

References

  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"". Archived from the original on 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  7. ^ "Lufthansa Italia on ch-aviation".

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