Lastly: ITA Airways Joins Star Alliance, Adopts Miles & Extra Loyalty Program

In early 2025, Lufthansa Group acquired a 41% stake in Italy’s ITA Airways. Italy is a crucial marketplace for all main European carriers, and it’s one the place SkyTeam has traditionally been strongest, so Lufthansa Group needed to alter that.

Shortly after that occurred, ITA Airways left the SkyTeam alliance, with plans to finally be part of the Star Alliance, and undertake Miles & Extra as its loyalty program. Whereas we knew that ITA Airways would undertake Miles & Extra as its loyalty program as of April 1, we additionally now know that the airline will formally be part of the Star Alliance as of that date.

ITA Airways enters its subsequent chapter as of April 1, 2026

As of April 1, 2026, ITA Airways is adopting Lufthansa Group’s Miles & Extra loyalty program, changing the provider’s personal ITA Volare program. Or maybe extra precisely, the provider is simply shutting down its program.

Sadly this transition isn’t easy in any respect — factors aren’t being honored between packages, so ITA Volare members must redeem their factors immediately there. Moreover, standing is being honored within the type of standing matches.

Past the direct loyalty program growth, ITA Airways can be formally becoming a member of the Star Alliance as of April 1, which means this system lastly presents full reciprocal perks by way of having the ability to earn and redeem factors, and make the most of elite perks, together with for Star Alliance Gold members.

Right here’s how ITA Airways CEO Joerg Eberhart describes this growth:

“Becoming a member of Star Alliance marks a historic milestone for ITA Airways and a defining step in our development. By changing into a part of the world’s largest and most established world airline community, we considerably develop our worldwide attain whereas providing our passengers a extra seamless, constant and excessive‑high quality journey expertise, with entry to over 1,150 locations worldwide, smoother connections, built-in companies and a stronger premium proposition. On the similar time, we enter Star Alliance bringing with us our distinctive Italian id, enriching the Alliance and reinforcing ITA Airways’ position in connecting Italy with the world, combining world requirements of excellence with the heat and class that outline the Italian manner of flying.”

In the meantime right here’s what Star Alliance CEO Theo Panagiotoulias needed to say:

“On behalf of our members, I’m delighted to welcome ITA Airways because the twenty sixth member of Star Alliance. That is the results of a centered and collaborative integration effort. With ITA Airways on board, we not solely develop our community to and from Italy, but additionally elevate the related expertise of our prospects when travelling throughout a number of airways, by entry to the world’s largest community of airport lounges, extra complete loyalty advantages, and different advantages like baggage monitoring – all designed to boost the journey at each step.”

It’s good to see ITA Airways now not in “no man’s land”

Whereas I’m not essentially an enormous fan of Lufthansa Group or of the Miles & Extra program, I do contemplate it to be objectively good that ITA Airways will totally be in an alliance. For roughly a 12 months now, the airline has been between alliances, and that’s simply not ideally suited by way of reciprocity for incomes and redeeming factors, profiting from elite perks, and so on.

Now, ITA Airways has had some bilateral agreements with different airways throughout this time, however that’s nonetheless a protracted methods from the simplicity of belonging to one of many main alliances, the place the insurance policies between airways are fairly simple.

I’m delighted that it’ll be attainable to redeem all Star Alliance rewards currencies, together with Avianca Lifemiles, for journey on ITA Airways. Moreover, this could make much more individuals eligible for lounge entry with ITA Airways, each by way of standing and sophistication of service, so count on that the provider’s restricted variety of lounges will get a bit extra crowded.

Backside line

On April 1, 2026, ITA Airways is adopting Lufthansa Miles & Extra as its loyalty program, changing ITA Volare. On prime of that, the airline is becoming a member of the Star Alliance, roughly a 12 months after leaving the SkyTeam alliance. I’m excited to have extra alternatives to earn and redeem factors for journey on ITA, and likewise to make the most of elite perks.

What do you make of this ITA Airways loyalty growth?