Lufthansa CEO optimistic about financial health of ITA Airways

LUFTHANSA executives sought to reassure investors about ITA Airways’ financial health on Friday (Jul 5), after the German carrier won the European Union’s approval this week to buy 41 per cent of the Italian airline.

It took the German airline group more than a year to win European Commission approval for its purchase of a stake in the Italian carrier, eventually agreeing to a number of concessions for which the details are still being ironed out.

As part of the deal, Lufthansa will give itself two years to assess ITA’s financial health before pushing for a full takeover.

“We only need to execute if it is economically viable, even though you can hear my optimism and the optimism of the whole group that this will be the case,” chief executive officer Carsten Spohr told investors and analysts.

Spohr said he expected ITA’s business costs to improve further, given the efficiency of Rome’s Fiumicino Airport.

The leasing debt of the Italian carrier was not a major concern, the German airline executive noted.

On Thursday, Spohr said in a separate interview that Lufthansa could take a 90 per cent stake in ITA as soon as next year.

ITA’s predecessor, Alitalia, was bailed out by taxpayers repeatedly over decades and faced possible takeovers from numerous suitors, which did not materialise. REUTERS