ITA Airways Joins Star Alliance. Here’s Why Canadian Travellers Should Pay Attention

If you love flying with Star Alliance airlines like Air Canada, United, Lufthansa, or SWISS, there’s a meaningful new addition to the mix.

ITA Airways has officially joined Star Alliance, marking a major shift in Europe’s airline landscape and giving travellers more connectivity through Italy and beyond.

For Canadians heading to Europe, this is one of those airline industry moves that may sound niche at first, but it could actually make your future trips smoother, easier to book, and more rewarding.

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A big move for Italy’s national carrier

ITA Airways, Italy’s flag carrier and the airline that emerged following the collapse of Alitalia, has now completed its transition into Star Alliance as part of its growing integration with Lufthansa Group.

That means as of April 1, 2026, ITA is now fully plugged into the alliance’s global network, with its main hubs in Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate now better connected to Star Alliance’s massive footprint.

This is a pretty significant development because Star Alliance is already the world’s largest airline alliance, and adding ITA strengthens its presence in one of Europe’s most important travel markets: Italy.

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Why this matters for Canadians

For Canadian travellers, especially those flying from Toronto who have direct flight availability to Rome with ITA, this opens up more convenient ways to reach not just cities in Italy, but also a wider range of destinations across Southern Europe, the Balkans, North Africa, and parts of the Middle East.

Think:

• Easier connections through Rome
• More flight options across Italy
• Better one-ticket itineraries with fewer booking headaches
• More seamless access to smaller European destinations and other regions of the world

If you typically book transatlantic trips with Air Canada or another Star Alliance carrier, ITA’s addition could mean more itinerary options start showing up when you search.

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The biggest win? A more seamless travel experience

One of the best parts of airline alliances is not just where they fly, but how the trip feels when everything works together.

Now that ITA is in Star Alliance, travellers can expect many of the benefits that make alliance travel way easier, including:

• Less hassle when connecting between airlines, including easier check-in and baggage handling on eligible itineraries
• Reciprocal frequent flyer recognition
• Lounge access for eligible passengers
• Better coordination when connecting between airlines

In simple terms, it means fewer awkward gaps between carriers and a more unified experience if your itinerary includes multiple airlines.

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Good news for Aeroplan members

This is where things get especially interesting for Canadians.

Because Air Canada is part of Star Alliance, ITA Airways joining the alliance could make the airline more relevant for Aeroplan users, particularly when it comes to Europe trips.

While specific award and redemption details can evolve over time, Star Alliance membership generally means better alignment when it comes to:

• Earning points or miles on eligible fares
• Redeeming points across partner airlines
• Elite recognition and perks
• Access to more routings within the same loyalty ecosystem

For Canadian points collectors, that could make Italy an even more useful gateway for redemptions across Europe.

And if you’re someone who likes maximizing Aeroplan for transatlantic travel, this is definitely an airline worth keeping an eye on.

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Examples of ITA Itineraries

To give you a better sense of what this could look like in practice, here are a few example itineraries now available with ITA Airways from Toronto:

Toronto to Rome

Toronto to Naples

Toronto to Milan

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The Bottom Line

ITA Airways joining Star Alliance is one of those airline developments that is more important than it may first appear.

For Canadians, it means:

• Better access to Italy
• More flexibility when flying around Europe
• A smoother experience on multi-airline itineraries
• Potentially more useful options for Aeroplan and Star Alliance travel

And in a region as busy and fragmented as Europe, having another well-connected airline inside the alliance is rarely a bad thing.

If Italy is on your travel list, or if you often use Europe as a gateway to somewhere else, this is definitely a change worth knowing about.