ITA Airways Rolls Out Membership Cards for Volare Members; Sky Team Status Mapping

In November, I wrote about successfully status matching my British Airways gold status to ITA Airways’ Volare program. While the airline initially promised to make the program active on December 31, 2021, the date passed with no word or membership numbers/cards being issued.

There’s now a positive update.  ITA Airways, Italy’s Alitalia-successor airline, emailed participants in the status match virtual membership cards. The email promises to launch a members portal and provide point redemption rates on March 1 although it’s anyone’s guess whether the airline will be able to meet its latest deadline.

The email also contained information on how their membership would map to the SkyTeam alliance’s SkyPriority Elite and Elite Plus tiers. For example, my Volare Executive membership (matched from British Airways gold) mapped to SkyTeam’s Elite Plus tier.

SkyTeam Elite Plus provides access to useful benefits including lounge access, fast-track through security, priority check-in/transfers, additional luggage allowance, and more.

Of course, these benefits are subject to change as ITA Airways considers its alliance home amidst a bidding war by Star Alliance-aligned Lufthansa, Oneworld-aligned IAG/British Airways, and its SkyTeam partners for ITA.

The Upshot

Since ITA Airways started its status match campaign, the airline has been radio silent. Now, they’ve provided participants with membership numbers, information on elite benefits, and promising further information about the program on March 1. Stay tuned…