Delta Air Lines and ITA Airways have officially signed a reciprocal codeshare agreement. Effective December 22nd, the two airlines will start to offer more ways to their customers to get between Italy and the United States and beyond. Delta has previously partnered with Alitalia, ITA's predecessor.

Delta and ITA announce a codeshare agreement

Effective Wednesday, Delta Air Lines and ITA Airways will implement a reciprocal codeshare agreement. ITA Airways will place its code on Delta-operated flights to 92 destinations. This includes transatlantic flights from Rome (FCO) to Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Detroit (DTW), and New York (JFK). It will also extend to connections across Delta's domestic US network, Mexico, and Canada.

Delta will place its code on ITA's flights to 33 destinations. This includes its operations from Rome (FCO) to New York (JFK), Washington D.C. (IAD), Boston (BOS), Los Angeles (LAX), and Miami (MIA). It will also include 16 onward connections within Italy. Outside of Italy, Delta will place its code on ITA's flights to Albania, Egypt, Tunisia, Greece, Malta, and Israel.

While most of the routes will be available under the codeshare agreement on Wednesday, some may not be. Some of the routes, particularly onward international connections from the US to Mexico and Canada or from Italy to destinations like Egypt and Israel, are subject to government approval.

The codeshare partnership will provide customers with several benefits. Beyond expanded flight operations, the codeshare will also include a single ticket and through check-in of bags to a passenger's final destination. Codeshare flights are available for sale.

Delta keeps Italy in focus

One of Delta's top markets in Europe is Italy. Before partnering with ITA, Delta had a codeshare relationship with Alitalia. Delta has historically also offered an extensive network to Italy. Next summer, that schedule is getting even larger. Delta will fly, on its metal, the following routes to Italy next summer, according to schedules in Cirium:

  • Twice-daily service between New York (JFK) and Milan (MXP)
  • Twice-daily service between New York (JFK) and Rome (FCO)
  • Daily service between New York (JFK) and Venice (VCE)
  • Daily service between Boston (BOS) and Rome (FCO)
  • Twice-daily service between Atlanta (ATL) and Rome (FCO)
  • Daily service between Atlanta (ATL) and Milan (MXP)
  • Daily service between Atlanta (ATL) and Venice
Delta A330-300
Delta Air Lines is betting big on expanded service to Italy next summer. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Delta will operate up to ten daily nonstop flights between the United States and Italy next year. This is larger than Delta's schedule to Italy from the US in 2019 and will be the first summer where Delta will offer Premium Select, its international premium economy product, on all flights between the US and Europe.

Perry Cantarutti, Delta's Senior Vice President Alliances, stated the following on the codeshare partnership between Delta and ITA:

“Italy is a top destination for Delta customers, and this codeshare – achieved just two months after ITA’s launch – expands our reach and makes it easier for our customers to get out into the world. We are grateful to the authorities in the U.S. and Europe for granting the codeshare approvals and will look to further enhance customer benefits with ITA in the months and years ahead.”

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ITA expands its partnerships

ITA joined the SkyTeam alliance shortly after launching its operations in October 2021. Delta Air Lines is also part of the SkyTeam alliance. A codeshare relationship is the first step for partnerships between the two airlines. It would not be surprising to see both airlines expand their partnership in the future to cover more codeshare destinations, especially as ITA grows to the United States.

ITA faces an uphill battle. The transatlantic marketplace is packed with competition, and several airlines beyond just Delta are planning larger schedules to Italy next summer than pre-crisis levels. The codeshare partnership will help ITA fill up its planes, and Delta will get some help keeping its planes full with connections to points in Europe and North Africa.

ITA continues to expand its network and breadth of partnerships. Photo: Delta Air Lines

ITA's Chief Commercial Officer, Emiliana Limosani, stated the following:

“Through this codeshare agreement with Delta, we will continue our commercial strategy to further grow our partnerships with the world’s best airlines. Thanks to Delta’s network from New York-JFK, we are able to offer a huge choice of onward destinations to our customers, while also welcoming American visitors to Italy via our base at Rome Fiumicino.”

Partnerships last so long as there is a mutual benefit for both airlines. In this case, it appears both Delta and ITA see opportunities to benefit from a codeshare relationship. Time will tell how this partnership expands, especially considering that ITA is courting some other close partners that could impact the relationship between Delta and ITA. For now, starting on December 22nd, passengers will be able to start taking advantage of the codeshare relationship between both carriers.