ITA Airways, the national airline of Italy, has just unveiled its newest transatlantic route, launching in the spring of 2026. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given bigger developments at the airline.
ITA Airways has now left SkyTeam, and plans to join Star Alliance in the near future. The long term goal is for ITA Airways to even join the Star Alliance transatlantic joint venture, which otherwise includes United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, SWISS, etc.
With that in mind, the Houston route makes perfect sense. Not only is Houston a huge market as such, but it’s also a mega-hub for United, so there will be lots of connectivity opportunities. This will be a great, efficient, one-stop option for getting between many parts of the United States and Rome. Houston is also one of the only hubs out of which United doesn’t fly to Rome, so ITA won’t even have any direct competition in the market.
Here’s how ITA Airways CEO Joerg Eberhart describes this new route:
“We are proud to announce that for the first time in history Rome and Houston will be connected with a direct flight. This is our ninth North American destination and will further enrich the airline’s intercontinental network, one of ITA Airways’ key assets: long-haul operations not only support profitability but also stimulate short-haul traffic, strengthening the Rome Fiumicino hub.”
“With this new route, we consolidate our expansion in the U.S. market, our most important international market. The extensive offer from Rome allows us to be the reference carrier from the U.S. to Italy and, via Rome, to Europe and the Mediterranean for the Italian community and other major communities in the region. The new destination is also part of a broader international growth strategy, culminating in ITA Airways joining the Star Alliance in 2026, within the integration process into the Lufthansa Group.”
Bottom line
ITA Airways will add a new route between Rome and Houston as of the spring of 2026, with an Airbus A330-900neo. This is a logical addition to ITA’s network, when you consider that the airline is in the process of joining the Star Alliance, and hopefully, the Star Alliance transatlantic joint venture.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
