ITA Airways Joins ANA and Lufthansa Group Europe Japan Joint Venture to Strengthen Rome Tokyo Connectivity

ITA Airways Joins ANA and Lufthansa Group Europe Japan Joint Venture to Strengthen Rome Tokyo Connectivity

(IN SHORT) All Nippon Airways and Lufthansa Group will expand their Europe Japan joint venture to include ITA Airways from autumn 2026, strengthening travel connectivity between Japan, Italy and the wider European network. The agreement, signed during the IATA Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro by ANA, Lufthansa Group and ITA Airways leaders, will add ITA Airways’ European network, domestic Italian connections, Maghreb routes and its daily Rome Fiumicino Tokyo Haneda service to the joint venture. The Rome Tokyo route, operated by ITA Airways with Airbus A350-900 aircraft, complements ANA’s existing Tokyo Haneda Milan Malpensa service operated with Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The partnership will allow customers of ANA, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SWISS to book and combine ITA Airways’ intercontinental flights with partner services from autumn 2026, while also benefiting from feeder flights via Rome, onward ANA domestic connections in Japan, reciprocal lounge access, mutual ticket recognition and loyalty programme recognition. With the addition of ITA Airways, the joint venture will offer 160 weekly long-haul flights between Japan and Europe, improving access to Italy, Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa and Japan.

(PRESS RELEASE) TOKYO, Japan, 2026-Jun-8 — /Travel PR News/ — All Nippon Airways and Lufthansa Group will expand their strategic Europe Japan joint venture to include ITA Airways from autumn 2026, creating broader travel options between Japan, Italy and the wider European network.

According to a press announcement published by ANA, the agreement was signed during the IATA Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro by Juichi Hirasawa, President and CEO of All Nippon Airways, Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa Group, and Joerg Eberhart, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of ITA Airways.

ITA Airways’ inclusion marks another important step in the airline’s integration with Lufthansa Group and strengthens what is already the largest joint venture between Japan and Europe. The expanded cooperation will cover ITA Airways’ European network, including domestic Italian routes and services to the Maghreb, as well as the airline’s long-haul route between Rome Fiumicino and Tokyo Haneda.

Rome Fiumicino will play a central role in the expanded partnership. ITA Airways currently operates a daily nonstop service between Rome Fiumicino and Tokyo Haneda using Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The route operates as AZ792 from Rome Fiumicino at 14:55, arriving in Tokyo Haneda at 10:25 the following day, and as AZ793 from Tokyo Haneda at 12:40, arriving in Rome Fiumicino at 14:55. The service complements ANA’s existing Tokyo Haneda Milan Malpensa route, operated with Boeing 787-9 aircraft. ANA flight NH207 operates from Tokyo Haneda at 22:45 to Milan Malpensa at 07:10 the following day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, while NH208 operates from Milan Malpensa at 11:20 to Tokyo Haneda at 07:15 the following day on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Both Rome Fiumicino and Tokyo Haneda have received Skytrax’s five-star airport rating. From autumn 2026, ITA Airways’ Rome Tokyo service will be bookable by customers of ANA, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SWISS, with the possibility to combine the flight flexibly with services operated by the partner airlines. A joint offer will be introduced gradually from autumn 2026, with customers to be informed as the new booking options become available.

The joint venture will also include ITA Airways’ feeder services into Rome, giving travellers between Japan and Europe additional connection opportunities. The Rome hub is expected to provide shorter journey options for passengers travelling to and from Southern Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa. Beyond Tokyo Haneda, ANA’s domestic network will give ITA Airways passengers access to multiple onward destinations within Japan.

Passengers will also benefit from reciprocal lounge access in Rome and Tokyo, mutual ticket recognition and recognition of the airlines’ loyalty programmes. The expanded cooperation is designed to provide a more coordinated and comparable customer experience across the participating carriers.

The Europe Japan joint venture was originally launched in 2012 by ANA and Lufthansa, with SWISS and Austrian Airlines joining in subsequent years. The partnership has enabled closer commercial cooperation, including coordinated product planning and flight scheduling. Japanese authorities granted the required antitrust immunity several weeks ago, allowing the expanded joint venture to move forward.

Under the joint venture framework, participating airlines can coordinate schedules to improve departure time distribution throughout the day. Customers will gain access to a wider range of travel options, with long-haul flights combinable with regional feeder services at Tokyo Haneda and five Lufthansa Group hubs. The expanded joint venture will now offer 160 weekly long-haul flights between Japan and Europe.

“As we approach the 15th anniversary of our joint venture next year, our long-standing partnership with Lufthansa Group has allowed us to offer our passengers a seamless and high-quality travel experience between Japan and Europe. With ITA Airways joining us to open up the gateway to Rome, we look forward to offering travelers exceptional service and even more convenient access to Italy, Southern Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond,” said Juichi Hirasawa, President and CEO of All Nippon Airways.

“We are very proud to join the Europe Japan Joint Venture together with ANA and Lufthansa Group. This agreement represents a key milestone in the international development of ITA Airways and further strengthens the airline’s connectivity to the Asia-Pacific region, an area of major strategic importance. We thank our partners Lufthansa Group and ANA for this important opportunity, which will allow us to offer our customers more travel options, more efficient connections, and an increasingly integrated travel experience,” said Joerg Eberhart, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of ITA Airways.

ANA Corporate Communications s