Alitalia’s statement, issued on Tuesday, 24AUG, was a goodbye. “Alitalia, under Extraordinary Administration from midnight today, will no longer sell tickets for flights from 15 October.”
After tremendous losses, Alitalia was taken over by the Italian government in MAR 2020. Reincorporation plans were stymied by European Commission requirements.
As a consequence, Alitalia is ceasing operations, and its replacement - also entirely funded by the government of Italy - is now ‘waiting in the wings.’
A statement from ITA (Italia Trasporto Aereo) says it will be operational from 15OCT as a “newly established company destined to take over from Alitalia.”
It adds its 2021-2025 business plan was approved by the European Commission, which also required “discontinuity” between Alitalia and ITA.
As a result, ITA will have to “acquire, through direct negotiation with Alitalia, the assets to manage the 'aviation' branch. The Alitalia brand will be sold through a public tender,” which ITA hopes to acquire, as it “believes that the brand is an essential element for the plan.”
ITA’s European Commission-approved business plan involves “flying a fleet of 52 aircraft that will grow to 105 by the end of 2025.”
The new company adds, “At first, the airline will fly to 45 destinations with 61 routes, growing to 74 destinations and 89 routes by 2025. As for long-haul routes, ITA will initially provide connections to New York, Tokyo, Boston and Miami, but new routes to São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Washington and Los Angeles are expected to be added in the summer 2022. From Fiumicino (Rome) and Linate (Milan) airports there will be connections to the main EU destinations.”
ITA’s executive chairman Alfredo Altavilla stated: "We should complete the transition leading to the take-off of the first aircraft on 15 October. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the Italian Government and our representatives in Brussels for the teamwork that made it possible to achieve this important result after months of negotiations, and which we trust will continue in the months to come."
ITA’s press release did not indicate what would happen to Alitalia’s SkyTeam codeshare agreements.
However, in May 2020, Alitalia left the SkyTeam Transatlantic Joint Ventures, a profit-sharing agreement for transatlantic flights originally formed in 2010 between the Italian carrier and Air France, KLM and Delta.
Given the European Commission’s mandate for “discontinuity” between Alitalia and ITA, along with ITA’s statement that its aviation, maintenance and ground handling crew will be hired under new contracts, it seems to suggest that other previous partnerships will also expire with Alitalia on 14OCT.
Whether the new ITA will attempt to join SkyTeam or forge ahead with new relationships, is not publicly known at this point.
Alitalia customers who have purchased flights departing from 15OCT are able to “replace the flight with another equivalent operated by Alitalia by 14 October; otherwise full refund of the
ticket will also be possible.”
