Lufthansa Group will extend its codeshare programme to select ITA Airways long-haul flights from 1 July in the latest step to integrate the Italian carrier into the airline group.

The move comes after the European aviation giant completed its purchase?of a 41 per cent minority stake in ITA earlier this year.

The extended codeshare arrangement will offer ¡°significantly better connections¡± and allow travellers to combine flights from Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines with long-haul flights from ITA Airways in a single booking.

This will include flights from Lufthansa¡¯s hubs in Frankfurt and Munich to Rome with connections via ITA Airways to Bangkok, Jeddah and Riyadh, and additionally with Brussels Airlines flights from Brussels to Cairo. With Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines from Vienna, codeshare flights via Rome to Rio de Janeiro or S?o Paulo can also be booked, according to the group.

Travellers will also be able to earn and redeem miles in their respective frequent flyer programmes.

Lufthansa Group chief commercial officer Dieter Vranckx said: ¡°We are delighted to reach the next milestone in the integration of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group. By expanding our codeshare flights ¨C now also for long-haul connections ¨C we are offering our airlines' guests a seamless and consistent travel experience more than ever before.¡±

Further codeshare flights to Africa and Asia will be added to the codeshare programme ¡°in the coming weeks¡± and once fully implemented, ITA Airways travellers will have access to more than 250 Lufthansa Group destinations, the group said.