Germany's Lufthansa will start making money from its investment in ITA Airways from this year, the chief executive of the German carrier, Carsten Spohr, said on Monday.

Lufthansa Group remains a minority shareholder in Italy’s national carrier, but it’s already leveraging the benefits of its 41% stake.

There is scope for more consolidation in Europe's airline sector, the chief executive of Germany's Lufthansa said on Monday, having just bought a 41% stake in Italy's state-owned ITA Airways.Lufthansa paid 325 million euros ($332 million) for the ITA deal and last week agreed to buy a 10% stake in Latvian airline airBaltic.