United Airlines and Alitalia ITA Airways will debut a new partnership later this month as part of the latter’s integration with the Lufthansa organization.
Manchester United confirmed on Tuesday that the carrier will start coding and loyalty matching on September 15, ITA said. The agreement was a pioneer in the Alitalian Airlines in early 2026 with Manchester United and other airlines.
ITA is exiting the antenna alliance.
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Lufthansa Group bought a 41% stake in ITA from the Italian government in early 2025. The German Group is integrating ITA, an integration consisting of Alitalia’s assets in 2020 and integrating it into its airline and partnership portfolio.
Under the agreement, ITA’s Volare Loyalty Program members and United’s MileagePlus program can earn and redeem points on any airline’s flights. Elite members will also have access to the lounge of two carriers.
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A joint spokesperson confirmed that Mileage Prous members will also gain valuable status and segments when flying on ITA.
Codesharing will allow ITA to place its “AZ” code on flights that select U.S. airports, including Fort Dallas Worth International Airport (DFW), Denver International Airport (DEN), and George Bush InterContinental Airport (IAH) in Houston. The US portals shared by airlines include Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), O’Hare International Airport in Chicago (ORD) and Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC (IAD)
In Europe, Manchester United will place its “UA” code on certain ITA flights, including flights to Florence Airport (FLR), Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) and Turin Airport (TRN). The airline will connect to ITAs at gateways such as Brussels Airport (BRU), Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and Rome’s Fimicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO).
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The ITA Joint Agreement is a pioneer of Alitalia, which joins an existing joint venture between Air Canada, Lufthansa Group and Manchester United. Joint ventures are regulatory approval cooperation, and airlines can coordinate fares to fares and sales in a certain market (in this case, between North America and Europe).
Lufthansa executives, including Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr, have confirmed the plan to include ITA in the transatlantic agreement without providing a solid timeline.
“If you force ITA to fly against all three American airlines, that three American airlines are comparable to the size of ITA, even the emirates operating on the North Atlantic of Milan, ITA will have no sustainable future,” Spohr said in 2024.
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