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.

The full integration of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group is already underway, with the Italian carrier also set to join Star Alliance in 2026.

Days after the Lufthansa Group closed its purchase of 41% of Italy's ITA Airways, the group began the process of combining with the airline.

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.

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

Lufthansa Group is ramping up efforts to integrate new member airline ITA Airways, starting with merging frequent flyer programmes.

There is scope for further consolidation in the European airline sector, the chief executive of Germany's Lufthansa said on Monday, having just bought a 41% stake in Italy's state-owned ITA. "We have too many airlines in Europe.