Lufthansa Italia

Lufthansa Italia
IATA ICAO Callsign
LH DLH LUFTHANSA
Founded 2008
Commenced operations 2 February 2009
Ceased operations 29 October 2011
Operating bases Milan–Malpensa Airport
Frequent-flyer program Miles & More
Airport lounge Senator Lounge
Alliance Star Alliance (affiliate)
Fleet size 20
Destinations 18
Parent company Lufthansa
Headquarters Milan, Italy
Key people Michael Kraus, CEO

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]

History

Foundation

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

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 to 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

Four Lufthansa Italia Airbus A319-100's 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
Future destination
Seasonal
Terminated destination
City Country IATA ICAO Airport
Barcelona SpainBCNLEBLBarcelona El Prat Airport
Bari ItalyBRILIBDBari Airport
Cagliari ItalyCAGLIEECagliari Airport
Casablanca MoroccoCASGMMCCasablanca Anfa Airport
Catania ItalyCTELICCCatania Airport
Ibiza SpainIBZLEIBIbiza Airport
Lisbon PortugalLISLPPTLisbon Airport
London United KingdomLHREGLLHeathrow Airport
Madrid SpainMADLEMBBarajas Airport
Milan ItalyMXPLIMCMalpensa Airport
Naples ItalyNAPLIRNNaples Airport
Olbia ItalyOLBLIEOOlbia Airport
Palermo ItalyPMOLICJPalermo Airport
Palma de Mallorca SpainPMILEPAPalma de Mallorca Airport
Paris FranceCDGLFPGParis-Charles de Gaulle Airport
Prague Czech RepublicPRGLKPRPrague Airport
Stockholm SwedenARNESSAArlanda Airport
Warsaw PolandWAWEPWAWarsaw Chopin Airport

Fleet

Lufthansa Italia Airbus A319-100

As of June 2013, the average age of Lufthansa Italia's aircraft was 14.7 years. The fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

 Lufthansa Italia Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A319-100 10 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.

References

  1. 1 2 Lufthansa press release: "Lufthansa launches new Lufthansa Italia brand"
  2. ↑ Lufthansa press release: "Lufthansa boosts services from Milan"
  3. ↑ Espinoza, Javier. "Lufthansa's Italian Adventure." Forbes. 26 November 2008.
  4. ↑ Lufthansa press release: "Fly Lufthansa direct from Milan to major European cities"
  5. ↑ "Lufthansa and Air Dolomiti will take over role of the Lufthansa Italia brand – Air Dolomiti to expand route network". 2011-05-23. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  6. 1 2 http://www.airliners.de/aus-fuer-lufthansa-italia/24212
  7. ↑ http://www.ch-aviation.ch/portal/airline.php?cha=LHI

External links

Media related to Lufthansa Italia at Wikimedia Commons

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