Airline Groups
Lufthansa Group: How Five National Carriers Became One
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Photo: Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia — CC BY-SA 2.0
Fly Swiss to Zurich, Austrian to Vienna, Brussels Airlines to Belgium, or ITA Airways to Rome, and you’re flying Lufthansa Group four different times without ever touching a plane branded Lufthansa. That’s the deliberate strategy. Since 2005, Lufthansa has bought four separate national flag carriers, one after another, and kept every one of them flying under its own name, its own livery, its own frequent-flyer programme. Why?
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Why keep the brands instead of merging them?
The obvious move would be to repaint every airline it buys in Lufthansa colours, the way most takeovers merge brands. Lufthansa doesn’t, because national identity sells seats on national routes. An Austrian passenger books Austrian Airlines partly out of a loyalty that a repainted “Lufthansa Vienna” wouldn’t keep, and losing it would cost more in bookings than it would save in marketing. Slot rights at each airline’s home hub are also tied to that airline’s own Air Operator’s Certificate (its licence to fly), in ways that don’t move cleanly to another brand. Keeping the company alive keeps the slots alive. The multi-brand structure isn’t sentiment. It protects slots and demand, dressed up as heritage.
Members
The five Lufthansa Group brands
Lufthansa
Frankfurt / Munich · Germany
Core airline, founded 1953
Swiss Intl. Air Lines
Zurich · Switzerland
Bought after Swissair’s 2001 collapse
Austrian Airlines
Vienna · Austria
Taken over 2009
Brussels Airlines
Brussels · Belgium
Sabena’s successor, fully owned 2017
ITA Airways
Rome Fiumicino · Italy
Alitalia’s successor, 41% stake since Jan 2025
Eurowings
Düsseldorf · Germany
Group’s own low-cost brand, redeveloped 2015
The arc
How the group was actually assembled
- 2001Break
Swissair collapses
The same collapse that also took down Belgium’s Sabena (see that case study) — creates the opening Lufthansa later steps into.
- 2005Reset
Swiss acquired
Lufthansa buys the Swissair successor; full acquisition completes 2007.
- 2009Reset
Brussels Airlines stake
A 45% holding in Sabena’s post-collapse successor, agreed in 2008 and approved in 2009.
- 2009Proof
Austrian Airlines taken over
Lufthansa buys the Austrian state holding company’s 41.6% stake, then bids for the rest — during the global financial crisis.
- 2017Proof
Brussels Airlines fully owned
The remaining 55% acquired from SN Airholding, completing a nine-year phased takeover.
- 2025The bet
ITA Airways — 41% stake
Alitalia’s post-bankruptcy successor. Lufthansa closed its 41% purchase on 17 January 2025 and announced in May 2026 that it will raise the stake to 90%, with closing expected in early 2027.
- 2026Proof
ITA joins Star Alliance
Becomes a full Star Alliance member on 1 April — the same pattern followed for Swiss, Austrian and Brussels Airlines before it.
Where the real synergies land
The savings Lufthansa does make are almost all behind the scenes. A single group-wide aircraft order gets a better price per aircraft than five national airlines negotiating alone. Maintenance capacity is shared, and IT and revenue-management systems are combined. Where two group airlines fly the same route, it’s given to whichever has the stronger slot position or lower costs at that airport. None of that needs a shared paint scheme.
The ITA Airways test
ITA Airways is the newest and most closely watched addition, and it’s a takeover in stages rather than a clean purchase. Lufthansa has held 41% since January 2025. In May 2026 it said it would exercise its option to take 90%, with closing expected in early 2027 subject to regulatory approval; the Italian state holds the rest in the meantime. ITA only exists because Alitalia, Italy’s previous flag carrier, went through repeated bankruptcy restructurings before being wound down and replaced by a smaller, leaner ITA in 2021. Whether this step-by-step model works better than a quick full takeover is one of the more interesting live experiments in European airline consolidation. The early sign is good: ITA added €90 million to group earnings in 2025, its first meaningful profit contribution since joining.
What the numbers actually show, 2025
By the numbers that matter, 2025 was the best year in Lufthansa Group’s hundred-year history. Group revenue topped €39.6 billion, adjusted EBIT (operating profit) rose about 20% to nearly €2 billion (€1.96 billion), and the operating margin climbed to 4.9%. The breakdown by division is more interesting than the headline, though. The core Lufthansa airline only just got back into profit, with an adjusted operating margin of 0.9% after improving its result by about €250 million. So the flagship is still the weakest part of its own group by margin. Passenger revenue across the group rose 3% to €30.1 billion, but two other divisions did much of the work. Lufthansa Cargo’s operating profit rose 29% to €324 million. The maintenance and repair division (MRO) made €603 million in adjusted operating profit. Lufthansa Group’s profits increasingly depend on businesses that sit next to the passenger airline.
That pattern, with the core brand trailing the airlines it bought and the businesses around it, deserves attention. It suggests the multi-brand strategy isn’t only insurance against losing national loyalty. It’s becoming central to the group’s profits. Swiss and Austrian have historically run leaner than the German main airline, which carries higher German labour costs, aviation taxes and unionised ground-staff agreements that Zurich and Vienna don’t have in the same form.
Sources & Further Reading
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Which airlines does Lufthansa Group own?
Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and the low-cost brand Eurowings, plus a 41% stake in Italy’s ITA Airways (held since January 2025). In May 2026 it said it would raise that to 90%, with closing expected in early 2027.
Why doesn’t Lufthansa repaint Swiss and Austrian in Lufthansa colours?
National identity sells seats on national routes, and each airline’s home-hub slots are tied to its own licence to fly. Keeping the brands keeps both the loyal customers and the slots.
Is Swiss part of Lufthansa?
Yes. Lufthansa bought Swiss, the successor to the collapsed Swissair, from 2005, with the full acquisition completing in 2007. It still flies under its own name from Zurich.
Does Lufthansa own ITA Airways?
Partly. Lufthansa has held 41% of ITA Airways since January 2025. In May 2026 it said it would exercise its option to raise that to 90%, with closing expected in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval. ITA became a full Star Alliance member on 1 April 2026.
Is the Lufthansa airline itself profitable?
Only just. In 2025 the core Lufthansa airline made an adjusted operating margin of 0.9%, the weakest in the group, while Lufthansa Cargo and the maintenance division did much of the earning.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Facts that change, such as fleets, airspace and airline ownership, are re-checked on a schedule. Spotted an error? Email contact@skyplus.news and we’ll fix it. See how we check facts.