Ita Airways, the paradox of the sacrifices imposed by the EU: to Linate more competition with Europe, less with Italy. And the rates go up

The EU request to Ita Airways to give in a slot package to Milan Linate airport to increase the competition on European connections – in exchange for the green light to the wedding with Lufthansa – is producing the opposite effect on national routes: the flights have significantly reduced and the rates have jumped to a double -figure double figure. This is what emerges from the analysis of Courier based on specialized platforms. Which also highlights another phenomenon: the « labor » of Linate passengers towards the low cost that operate in Malpensa and Bergamo has also led to a significant increase in the ticket price.

The final ok and the sacrifices

In November 2024, giving the final ok at the entrance of Lufthansa in Ita Airways With a 41% share for 325 million euros (the remaining 59% remains at the Ministry of Economy), the General Management of EU competition has also approved a package of corrective measures to increase the competition in particular in Linate, a airport where there are no more slots available. Ita and Lufthansa have thus had to give up 44 take-off and daily landscape rights: 29-30 (depending on the days) were given to Easyjet (to which three Airbus were also provided), 8-9 at IAG (group that controls British Airways, Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus) and 4-5 in Air France-Klm.

More broken with Europe

But all these slots have been re-appointed by the competitors of Ita (and Lufthansa) to make the connections between Italy and Europe, not within our country. While with a cut of that type in the Milanese City Airport, the tricolor vector was forced to rebalance the offer: it reduced frequencies on national flights so as to give them back to international connections with the rights stolen from the home network starting from March 30, 2025.

From 30 March 2025

That day the « summer season » began which lasts about seven months for air transport and this year ends on October 25th. It is the peak temporal window for the vectors, the one in which the greatest number of passengers moves that allows you to record the greatest earnings, while in the remaining months (from the end of October and the end of March of the following year), the « winter » season usually brings only more or less significant losses because people move less.

The cut of flights

From 30 March you can see very well how the situation changes in the Milanese airport. Take for example the « shuttle » Linate-Fiumicino: in March 2025 (with only the last two days involved in the cuts) the offer of ITALS OF ITA was reduced by 4.7% compared to the same month of 2024, an all in all physiological variation. But in April – first month of sacrifices – the cut was 23.3%, to rise to 25.9% in May. In short: travelers have been disappeared one in four seats.

The offer on the « domestic »

Also widening the gaze to all the domestic routes of ITA you notice the same trend: -12.3%in March of this year compared to twelve months before, more than doubled in April (-25.5%) and May (-27.3%). To have a comparison: at the same time the offer of places on the routes among the other Lombard airports (where the low cost ones operate above all: Malpensa and Bergamo) and the Italian destinations sees the offer almost stable compared to the past year, with a slight file that touches -2.2% in May.

The consequence on prices

To a reduction in the offer – and in the presence of a question that is still supported – the result for travelers is only one: the price for each seat increases. Significantly. And in fact if in March 2025 the Linate-Fiumicino flights of Ita were more expensive than 8.6%-according to the data analyzed by Courier – Here in April (when the offer drops by 23.3%) they rise by 25% compared to a year earlier, and are confirmed with the same increase in May. Considering the entire National Network of Ita da Linate also in this case the tickets are more expensive than almost 30% in April and 26% in May.

The impact on the other Lombard stopovers

The reduction of the offer and the increase in prices pushed the Italians who once flew from Linate to book with the low cost in Bergamo and Malpensa. But if in April the rates were contained – with even a drop of almost 1% on national routes -, here, in the face of an offer almost similar to a year earlier, the prices also on low cost have splashed by almost 24 in May. Net of the extra expenses for priority boarding/hand luggage, the choice of the place, etc.

« Linate is of primary importance »

« We have done a very complex job to convince the European Commission, the package of remedies offered has been judged effective and obviously it is having impacts on our activities on Linate, which we continue to consider an airport of primary importance for us », replies to Courier Joerg Eberhart, CEO and general manager of Ita. « We are doing our best, even considering maintenance activities on some aircraft on which we mount Pratt & Whitney engines that will accompany us for the next few months ».

The case of engines to be inspective

Yes, because not to help is also the fact that the extra inspections on a global scale at a certain model of latest generation engines – mounted on the Airbus A220 and A320neo – force dozens of vectors to hold the planes with those engines for about a year (per ITA it is an average of 5-8 devices out of use). And being, for the tricolor carrier, aircraft employed in particular on the national routes this certainly does not help to mitigate the impact of the sacrifices imposed by the EU.