Volotea and ITA Airways have launched a bilateral codeshare agreement, taking their existing cooperation to a higher level. Following the interline agreement signed in December 2025, the new arrangement offers passengers up to 104 possible travel combinations across the two airlines’ networks, with a focus on connecting small and medium-sized European cities with Italian and European destinations via Rome Fiumicino. The agreement took effect on April 15 and was publicly presented two days later.
In practice, the agreement allows passengers to combine Volotea and ITA Airways flights on a single ticket. This opens up connections via Rome to destinations in ITA’s network, including Milan Linate, Catania, Palermo, Brindisi, Trieste, Genoa, Reggio Calabria, Frankfurt, Paris, London, Zurich, Tirana and Amsterdam. At the same time, ITA Airways gains access to part of Volotea’s network, including cities such as Asturias, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Lourdes/Tarbes, Nantes and Strasbourg, with additional connection opportunities via Madrid and Barcelona.
At first glance, this is a classic example of commercial network expansion without adding own capacity. But in Volotea’s case, the agreement also carries a broader context. In recent years, the Spanish carrier has increasingly appeared alongside members of, or companies linked to, Star Alliance. Aegean Airlines, a Star Alliance member, entered Volotea’s ownership structure in 2024, initially with a 13 percent stake, while Volotea states that Aegean’s shareholding has increased to more than 20 percent following the latest capital round.
In addition to its ownership link with Aegean, Volotea has already developed commercial cooperation with Eurowings, a Lufthansa Group carrier. According to Volotea, this is a sales partnership covering more than 140 non-overlapping routes, while the original 2023 agreement was described as the basis for longer-term cooperation. AeroTime at the time referred to it as a codeshare partnership covering 140 European routes, while Volotea in its own announcements describes it as a sales partnership, or strategic commercial agreement. In other words, cooperation with Eurowings does exist, although public sources describe it using different terminology.
The new agreement with ITA Airways is particularly interesting because ITA became an official member of Star Alliance on April 1, 2026, while also being strongly integrated into the Lufthansa Group. In May, Lufthansa announced its decision to increase its stake in ITA Airways from 41 to 90 percent, a transaction expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
This makes the pattern around Volotea increasingly clear. Aegean is a significant shareholder, Eurowings is a commercial partner, and ITA Airways is now a codeshare partner. All three links point toward the Star Alliance environment, either through direct membership or through the Lufthansa Group. This does not mean that Volotea’s accession to Star Alliance has been confirmed, nor has such a decision been publicly announced. However, the direction of development is becoming increasingly interesting, particularly for a carrier positioned somewhere between the classic low-cost model and network connectivity for smaller European markets.
Volotea does not build its network around major hubs in the same way traditional network carriers do. Instead, it specializes in connecting small and medium-sized cities. In 2026, the airline plans to offer more than 430 routes, around 14 million seats and operate a fleet of 44 to 46 Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft. That is precisely why its value to larger partners may not lie primarily in size, but in access to markets that are often not efficient enough for major groups to serve independently.
For ITA Airways, the agreement means expanding its offer without opening new routes with its own aircraft, while Volotea gains greater visibility in European markets and access to passengers who purchase travel through network airlines. For passengers, the most important practical effect is more combinations, simpler booking and better connectivity via Rome, Madrid and Barcelona.
Still, the question remains whether Volotea has simply found an effective space for cooperation with larger players, or whether it is gradually preparing for deeper integration with one of Europe’s major airline blocs. For now, this remains a legitimate industry assumption rather than a confirmed strategy. But the fact that Volotea is increasingly “orbiting” Star Alliance members and Lufthansa Group carriers is difficult to overlook.
