ITA Airways is officially a part of Star Alliance

Airbus A320 ITA Airways in livrea speciale celebrativa della adesione della compagnia aerea all'alleanza aerea Star Alliance. Davanti all'aereo, disposti in fila tutti gli assistenti di volo delle compagnie aeree partecipanti a Star Alliance. Con la carta Advanzia Gold Mastercard Miles and More si possono accumulare punti, poi utilizzabili anche su ITA Airways.

Written by

Alex Achille

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Today, March 31st, 2026, is an important date in the short but very intense history of ITA Airways. A press conference was held at Piazza di Spagna lounge in T3 at Rome Fiumicino airport, where ITA Airways was officially welcomed into the Star Alliance.

In this post:

The Star Alliance ITA Airways entrance press conference

Today marks the day ITA Airways becomes a member of Star Alliance. Press conference was held at Piazza di Spagna Lounge in Terminal 3 in Rome Fiumicino Airport.

Speaking at the conference were:

  • ITA Airways CEO – Joerg Eberhart
  • Lufthansa Group CCO – Dieter Vranckx
  • Star Alliance CEO – Theo Panagiotoulias.
The ITA Airways press conference stage in the Piazza di Spagna lounge at T3 Terminal in Rome Fiumicino Airport on March 31st, 2026
The stage just before the start of the ITA Airways press conference celebrating the entry of the airline in the Star Alliance on March 31st, 2026, at Rome Fiumicino T3 Airport in Piazza di Spagna lounge.

ITA Airways’ integration into the Star Alliance ecosystem was very rapid. The CEO of Star Alliance and the Lufthansa and ITA Airways CEO and CCO both emphasized how rapidly the Italian carrier was able to achieve all the standards necessary to complete the entry into the alliance.

It was clearly a top priority for the Lufthansa group to have ITA Airways as rapidly as possible, integrated into the Star Alliance and into its shared frequent flyer program, Miles and More.

This is a major leap forward for the Italian carrier that leaves SkyTeam, becoming a central player in the European landscape of the Star Alliance.

Also present at the conference were 26 flight attendants, one representing each airline of the Star Alliance. The flight attendants were also central in the photo op that the airline organized with one newly painted Star Alliance special livery ITA Airways Airbus A320.

Starting tomorrow, April 1st, 2026, ITA Airways officially becomes the 26th airline to participate in Star Alliance.

An ITA Airways A320 with one flight attendant from each Star Alliance airline member standing in front of it. Celebrating the entrance in the Star Alliance on March 31st, 2026.
An Airbus A320 by ITA Airways in a newly repainted special livery celebrating the entrance in the Star Alliance on March 31, 2026, at Rome Fiumicino Airport.

A significant leap forward for ITA Airways passengers

by entering the Star Alliance and at the same time the Miles and More loyalty program, ITA Airways frequent flyers immediately get access to a vast network of lounges across the globe.

With ITA Airways fully integrating into the Lufthansa ecosystem passengers will benefit from a greater number of travel options via the Lufthansa Group hubs.

And finally, that means being able to travel on a single ticket on a combined trip that includes both ITA Airways metal and other Lufthansa group carriers.

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Alex Achille

Ex Emirates Cabin Crew and long time aviation enthusiast. I can remember loving aviation and planes since I was a very little boy. I have developed my passion into a deep knowledge of the sector and industry to offer on my sites in depth and precise analyses of what is going on. I also completed cabin crew training with Ryanair, however, I never worked for the company (more on that another time). Finally I also have taken flying lessons completing my first solo flights.