Lufthansa disclosed Thursday plans to upgrade its services operating out of Italy, but denied that the move was prompted by the maladies of its Italian rival Alitalia.

The German airline is to use six Airbus jets instead of the smaller Embraer planes it originally ordered for the new flights set to begin in February 2009.

A Lufthansa subsidiary, Air Dolomiti, will carry passengers direct from Milan's Malpensa Airport to Barcelona, Brussels, Madrid, Paris and other cities, said the group in Frankfurt.

To date, Air Dolomiti has mainly operated feeder flights to Lufthansa's Frankfurt and Munich hubs.

A spokesman rejected suggestions that the upgrade was linked to speculation that Italian flag carrier Alitalia was on the brink of collapse if it could not find a new owner.

In April Lufthansa said it was obtaining six Embraer 195 jets, which each seat about 100 passengers, for Milan-based routes. It has signed a memorandum of understanding to set up bigger ground facilities at Malpensa.

To date, the Lufthansa group has operated 158 inbound and 158 outbound flights per week through Malpensa. It said in April it wanted to add 150 inbound and 150 outbound flights to European destinations.

Milan, which also has an airport at Linate, is at the centre of Italy's economic powerhouse Lombardy region.