Alitalia A330-200 in its newest livery parked at the gate (left), while an Alitalia A321 in the 2009 livery taxing (right) | Photo Credit: AFAR

Well, here we go again, let's talk about the Italian Aviation industry. Well, the news in the industry has been good-ish … in per-say. Well, let's quickly recap the recent events. Alitalia officially ending ticket sales as of midnight on August 25, 2021. Wait, Alitalia is actually shutting down? Yes, Alitalia is shutting down for good. This is thanks to the Italian government, which took ownership of the company since March 17, 2020. The government believes the airline would not survive due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its own. This reversing the government's decision back in 2017, under the leadership of former Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (Dec 2016 - June 2018) that insisted the airline be auctioned off instead of being nationalized. And that was the case from 2017 until 2020. The negotiations have occurred under 3 governments (Gentiloni, Conte I, and Conte II cabinet) & one general election (2018).

But since the government took ownership of Alitalia, this during the Conte II cabinet, lead by former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (Sept 2019 - Feb 2021), the government promised that it would create a new airline to succeed Alitalia. But this would be the end to the Alitalia Brand, as reported. The government established a new company in November 2020 called Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., which their offices are established in the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. As the information of this new company was minimal, people thought this would be another Alitalia operating under a new legal name, similar to what the airline did back in 2009 and in 2015.

The European Commission (the Executive Branch of the EU) issued a letter to the Permanent Representative of Italy to the EU on the subject of the establishment of the new airline. The letter informing that the Commission wants to launch an "open, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional tender" to split the Alitalia assets. This came at a weird time for the Permanent Representative, as Italy was going through a government crisis when the letter was sent. The government crisis led to the collapse of the Conte II cabinet, Giuseppe Conte resigned as prime minister, and a new government was sworn in on February 13, 2021. The Italian government is now lead by former President of the European Central Bank and Italian economist Mario Draghi. The new government lead by Mario Draghi continued the talks and made changes to their plans.

As the European Commission made 62 requests for clarifications on the plan for ITA to take all of Alitalia's assets in the letter. This includes rejecting some plans where ITA would buy all assets of Alitalia. The Commission suggested that the aviation, ground handling, and maintenance businesses should be sold separately to a third party. Also recommending that slots must be sold along with the airline loyalty program MilleMiglia. As these assets should not be joined in the new company. In early July 2021, the European Commission gives the ok to the Italian government to allow the establishment of ITA with provisions in its plan. Even though the legal portion of the business is established, the aviation & financial part was officially sorted out. The conditions request grants ITA to acquire half of Alitalia's airport slots, half of Alitalia's fleet, and half of the existing Alitalia's workforce. However, ITA is blocked from owning the Alitalia brand, loyalty program, and client base.

Following the ok from the European Commission, the Italian government started preparing the airline for its test flight, leasing an Alitalia A330-200 with registration number EI-EJN. The aircraft remained with the Alitalia Livery but a decal with the ITA logo and the text above it "Operated By," informing that this plane is operated by the new airline and not Alitalia. After a successful test flight, the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione Civile) announced that it issued the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to the airline on August 18, 2021.

Following the AOC being issued to ITA, Alitalia announced that at Midnight on August 25, 2021, ticket sales will end for the airline for flights past October 15, 2021. It will also be the same day on which Alitalia will cease its operations and will also be the first day of the new airline. ITA officially opened ticket sales on August 26, 2021, on its own website www.itaspa.com. The airline mentioned that the site is temporary, and a new website will be pending, as the airline noted. To be honest, the airline's current website looks precisely identical to the Alitalia website, minus a list of features. The airline currently has no social media accounts. People wonder if ITA will create their own social media pages or if ITA will take over the Alitalia social media pages.

The airline's business plan is semi-public, in my case. The full details like the onboard service, type of aircraft used, etc., are still in the planning phase. However, the airline did address some plans for the airline's operations. Beginning with the fleet, ITA will begin operations with 52 aircraft (7 wide-body & 45 narrow-body aircraft). In 2022, the fleet will grow to 78 aircraft. From 2022 to 2025, the airline is planned to purchase new next-generation aircraft to the airline fleet. At the end of 2025, the airline will have 105 aircraft, of which 81 of 105 aircraft will be brand new (it will make up 77% of the airline's fleet). The airline did promise only to work with one manufacturer "in order to remove complexity and inefficiencies arising from operating a fleet made up of aircraft from different manufacturers," the airline said in a recent press release. The airline did state that more updates on the fleet will be addressed in September.

In network, the airline will set up shop at Rome - Fiumicino Airport (FCO) to be the airline's hub while operating Milan - Linate as a focus city for the airline. The airline will have 45 destinations with 61 route options at the beginning of operations, which will grow to 74 destinations with 89 routes by 2025. A complete list of the destinations the airline will be flying to is available on their website.

With the Loyalty program, both ITA and Alitalia have remained semi-quite since ITA was blocked from purchasing MilleMiglia (Alitalia Loyalty Program) from the European Commission. Alitalia has not made a public announcement about MilleMiglia. As a member of MilleMiglia with minimal miles, which has been extended recently due to the pandemic, I am very much concerned, even though I don't fly that often. ITA did address the issue but said it would establish its own loyalty program. The airline mentioned that they are currently looking for a provider to power the loyalty program, as stated in a recent press release.

The new airline is already focusing on Sustainability & Digitization. With Sustainability focusing on reducing CO2 emissions and already in touch with stakeholders, the airline can introduce Sustainable Aviation Fuel in its operations domestically and internationally. In digitization, with focusing on investments "in order to guarantee a quality travel experience to the customer," as the airline mentioned.

My complete expectations of the launch of ITA as Italy's new Flag Carries is high. Overall, I see this replacement of Alitalia looks well organized; however, we have to see if the proposed plans will work. The airline industry operations still remain impacted due to the COVID19 pandemic and recent regulations established between countries due to the Delta Variant.

The only thing I hope to see soon is the airline's entire presentation of its business plan. This should also contain the preview of its onboard products and services, its employee's uniforms, and future projects that should be addressed with expected launch dates. I also want to know if ITA will takeover Alitalia's spot in Skyteam or the airline will remain solo for the time being. The first year of the new airline will be bumpy, even as the airline technically missed the summer opportunity of air travel. Now for all of us, it is a game of wait and see.

So bye Alitalia, Welcome ITA!

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