Lufthansa Italia began operations on Feb. 2 with flights from Milan's Malpensa Airport to Barcelona and Paris.

In early March, the Lufthansa subsidiary will add flights to Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest and Madrid. London Heathrow and Lisbon will be added at the end of March.

Lufthansa said Alitalia's reduction in service from Milan Malpensa gave the upstart carrier an opportunity.

The first two Airbus A319 aircraft in the fleet are configured to seat 138 passengers in business and coach.

In the coming weeks, Lufthansa said it would be working with the Malpensa airport operator to improve the airport's infrastructure. The Lufthansa lounge at Malpensa is undergoing a renovation.