Swissair's execution of the strategic approach recommended by McKinsey turned out to be 10-15 times more expensive than the maximum amount approved by McKinsey for such a move. Considering the amounts Swissair paid for flying crap, 65 down for a solid stake in SN Brussels looks like a steal, considering the yields ex BRU, a market too small for the big boys and very secure in terms of EU travel budgets.
Northern Italy is certainly the filet piece of Italy and MXP has capacity. LH's bet so far, operating a couple of long range flights and route the rest via its hubs paid out big time with Switzerland and Scandinavia so for, if it works from a market that can sustain potentially a few more long haul markets is the question now
Average age of AZ mainline pilots is pretty high, LH will very likely offer pay-out packages and decrease the average costs of the cockpit significantly in a few years, if they should go ahead