Congratulations: ITA, The New Italian Airline, Takes Off
"Today is the first day of a story yet to be written," said Alfredo Altavilla, President of the new national Italian airline, which has taken the place of Alitalia, that ceased operations last Thursday. The inaugural flight took off yesterday from Milan Airport at 6:27 AM.
Photo: Shutterstock Italia Trasporto Aereo – ITA – took off yesterday (Friday, 15.10). The company replaces Alitalia, which ceased operations last Thursday after around 75 years.
The first flight of the new company, AZ1637, took off yesterday (Friday) the 15th of October at 6:27 AM from Linate Airport in Milan to the airport in Bari, Italy.
As part of the restructuring, it has taken over some of Alitalia's assets while ending its operations and ground maintenance activities, giving up its airport slots and reducing its fleet to about 50 aircraft.
ITA will start flying directly from Tel Aviv to Rome, starting from October 16th. From November 4th, it will begin operating connecting flights from Rome to the USA.
It will run direct flights to Rome Fiumicino from New York JFK, Miami, Boston, and Los Angeles, and from New York JFK to Malpensa Airport in Milan. ITA's first long-haul flight is the Rome Fiumicino - New York JFK flight starting from November 4, 2021, with a frequency of 6 flights a week.
In early December, the flight frequency will rise to 10 flights weekly, and during the Christmas holiday, from December 20 to January 9, the frequency will increase to 14 flights weekly.
As mentioned, Rome Fiumicino is its main international hub, while Milan Linate will be the second airport of the new national airline of Italy. The company's business plan initially includes 44 routes in 2021 to 44 different destinations, mainly other European capitals, including Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Brussels. By 2022, the company will expand the number of routes to 58 with 74 destinations.
The Italian national news agency, ANSA, recently presented the key features of the new national airline and its plans for the future.
Home Airports: Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate. Fleet: The company will start with 52 aircraft and will expand the fleet to 78 aircraft in 2022 with new 'next-generation' planes. By 2025, the fleet will grow to 105 aircraft, including 81 'next-generation' aircraft (77% of the fleet).
Workforce: When operations begin, the company will have 2,750–2,950 employees, and the number of workers will grow to 5,550–5,700 with the completion of the expansion plan in 2025. Routes and Destinations: The company will start flights to 44 destinations and 59 routes and will expand operations to 74 destinations and 89 routes in 2025.
The company will operate flights to all major European destinations and a wide network of domestic flights in Italy.
In the upcoming winter schedule, it will also start operating long-haul flights: New York from Rome and Milan, Tokyo-Haneda, Boston and Miami from Rome, and in the summer schedule of 2022, it will add routes to Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Washington, and Los Angeles. President: Alfredo Altavilla CEO: Fabio Lazzerini, who served as CEO of Alitalia in recent years.