HAVING PASSED ON the opportunity to buy into failed Italian flag-carrier Alitalia, Lufthansa has thrown a huge spanner into Italy's creaking air transport works by unveiling a new airline, Lufthansa Italia.
Initially equipped with six aircraft, the new carrier plans to offer four flights a day between Heathrow and Milan Malpensa from the end of March. Flights will be operated with 138-seat Airbus A319 equipment in a two-class configuration, with published London-Milan economy fares starting at £49. Assuming it is granted an Italian Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), the Malpensa-based carrier will launch its inaugural routes - to Barcelona and Paris CDG - on February 2. Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest and Madrid will be added to the network on March 2, with London and Lisbon services coming on stream at the end of that month.
In October last year, Lufthansa paid £318 million for Sir Michael Bishop's 50 per cent stake in Britain's bmi.
The German carrier already owned 30 per cent of bmi's share capital, with the other 20 per cent in the hands of SAS Scandinavian - which is itself vulnerable to a takeover.