Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana (Alitalia - Italian Airline Company), operating as Alitalia, is the flag carrier and national airline of Italy. The company has its head office in Fiumicino, Rome, Italy. Its main hub is Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, in Rome and two secondary hubs are located in Linate Airport and Milan Malpensa Airport, both in Milan. Other focus airports are Turin Airport and Venice Marco Polo Airport. On 30 September 2014, Air One ceased flight operations and Alitalia inherited some of its focus cities such as Catania-Fontanarossa Airport and Pisa International Airport. Alitalia's subsidiary Alitalia CityLiner's bases are Naples International Airport and Trieste Airport instead of Rome-Fiumicino and Milan-Linate airports.
Alitalia is Italy's biggest airline, and the world's 19th. The name "Alitalia" is an Italian portmanteau of the words ali (wings), and Italia (Italy). In late 2013, facing bankruptcy, the loss of a major fuel supplier, and a possible grounding by Italy's civil aviation authority, the airline announced a EUR500 million rescue package which includes a EUR75 million investment by the Italian state-owned postal operator.
On 1 August 2014, the Abu Dhabi-based UAE national airline Etihad Airways confirmed it had agreed to terms with Alitalia on taking a 49% stake in the Italian airline. This deal was signed on 8 August 2014 and became effective on 1 January 2015.
§History
§Creation of Alitalia-CAI
In 2008, a group of investors made the "Compagnia Aerea Italiana" (CAI) consortium aimed to buy the bankrupt Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane ("old" Alitalia) and to merge these with Air One, another Italian carrier.
On 30 October 2008, CAI offered EUR1 billion to acquire parts of the bankrupt airline, amidst pilots' and flight crew members' opposition to labour agreements.
On 19 November 2008, CAI's offer was accepted by the bankruptcy administrator of Alitalia with the permission of the Italian government, at the time major shareholder of the bankrupt airline. Alitalia's profitable assets were transferred to CAI on 12 December 2008 after CAI paid EUR1052 million, consisting of EUR427 million in cash and the assumption of responsibility for EUR625 million in Alitalia debt.
A USA diplomatic cable disclosed in 2011 summarised the operation as follows: "Under the guise of a rather quaint (and distinctly un-EU) desire to maintain the Italian-ness of the company, a group of wealthy Berlusconi cronies was enticed into taking over the healthy portions of Alitalia, leaving its debts to the Italian taxpayers. The rules of bankruptcy were changed in the middle of the game to meet the government's needs. Berlusconi pulled this one off, but his involvement probably cost the Italian taxpayers a lot of money."
On 13 January 2009, the "new" Alitalia launched operations. The owners of Compagnia Aerea Italiana sold 25% of the company's shares to Air France-KLM for EUR322 million. Air France-KLM also obtained an option, subject to certain conditions, to purchase additional shares after 2013.
The "new" Alitalia is officially a different company, which refused to honour passengers' claims against the old bankrupt Alitalia on this basis. In June 2014, the Abu Dhabi-based UAE national airline Etihad Airways announced it was taking a 49% stake in Alitalia.
The new Alitalia didn't own many of its operating airplanes. Alitalia-LAI instead owned 100% of its airplanes. Almost every plane that CAI had acquired from the old Alitalia was sold or dismissed. Instead, Alitalia-CAI airplanes were leased mostly from Aircraft Purchase Fleet Limited, an Irish company owned by Carlo Toto, the ex owner of the bankrupt Air One which was merged in 2008 to Alitalia-CAI when the new company was founded.
§History under new ownership
In January 2010, Alitalia celebrated its first anniversary since the relaunch. It carried 22 million passengers in its first year of operations. In 2011, 25 million passengers were carried.
On 1 February 2010, it was announced that Alitalia crew would go on a four-hour strike over wages. This was the first strike action for Alitalia since the relaunch.
On 11 February 2010, Alitalia announced that, starting from March 2010, it would use Air One as a low-fare airline ("Smart Carrier"), with operations based at Milan Malpensa Airport, focused on short-haul leisure routes. It was predicted that the subsidiary would handle 2.4 million passengers by 2012. In 2011, 1.4 million passengers were carried by the subsidiary. Although operations were initially to be concentrated at Milan Malpensa, Air One later operated from Milan-Malpensa, Venice-Marco Polo, Pisa and Catania as of January 2013.
On 12 February 2011, information was released about a possible merger between Alitalia and Meridiana Fly, another Italian carrier. The merger was not effected.
On 23 February 2011, Alitalia and ENAC announced the introduction of a safety card written in braille and characters in 3-D relief, which is the first of its kind.
On 25 January 2012, Alitalia signed memoranda of understanding with two other Italian airlines, Blue Panorama and Wind Jet, and said to have started processes "aimed at achieving integration" with them.
By the end of July 2012, the Italian antitrust authority allowed Alitalia to acquire Wind Jet, but in return Alitalia would have to cede slots on domestic routes. Faced with this, Alitalia cancelled the plans a few days later in August 2012.
On 3 May 2013, in a sting codenamed "Operation Clean Holds", police made 49 arrests at Rome's Fiumicino airport, with another 37 in Italian airports including Bari, Bologna, Milan Linate, Naples, Palermo and Verona. All were Alitalia employees caught on camera and most were charged with aggravated theft and damage. Hidden-camera footage has been released showing employees rifling through, stealing from, and intentionally damaging passengers' baggage belonging to various carriers.
On 1 January 2015, Alitalia-CAI formally passed its operations to Alitalia-SAI, a new entity owned 49% by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and 51% owned by the former Italian stakeholders of Alitalia-CAI.
§Slogans
A variety of different slogans are currently being used by Alitalia:
- "Alitalia vola con te" (Alitalia flies with you)
- "Fatti per volare alto" (Made to fly high)
- "Alitalia, al lavoro per te" (Alitalia, working for you)
- "Muoviamo chi muove l'Italia" (We move the people who keep Italy going)
- "Scegli come volare"(Choose how to fly)
- "Orgogliosi di mostrare il meglio del nostro paese appassionatamente"(Proud to show the best of our country with passion)
- "The pleasure of flying Made in Italy"
The old Alitalia, since 2005, the year in which the new modernised logo and livery were introduced, also used a mix of slogans:
- "Volare, nella tua vita" (Flying, in your life)
- "Volare in compagnia dell'Italia" (Fly with Italy)
In 2014, the company adopted a new slogan
- "Alitalians do it better"
- "Where the journey meets the destination." (International advertisement)
§Airline operations
§Administration
Alitalia's head office is located in Piazza Almerico da Schio, Pal. RPU - 00054 Fiumicino (RM). The corporate headquarters was designed by AMDL, a Milan-based architecture firm. The chairman of the airline is Roberto Colaninno; the first chief executive officer since the relaunch was Rocco Sabelli. On 28 February 2012, Andrea Ragnetti became the new chief executive officer of the company. On April 2013, he was replaced by Gabriele Del Torchio, former chief executive officer of Ducati.
Compagnia Aerea Italiana (CAI) holds a 75% stake in Alitalia, while Air France-KLM holds the other 25%. On October 2013, the state-owned postal service Poste Italiane announced to buy a 15% Alitalia's stake, by injecting 100 million euros into the company's equity and allowing the following capital increase of 300 million euros.
§Finance and load factors
ND = No Data
- As of 29 July 2009, Alitalia is the first airline for domestic flights in Italy and, as of 4 October 2010, Alitalia is in second place for international flights to/from Italy.
- Alitalia was nominated as Europe's most punctual airline in 2010, and as one of the world's five most punctual airlines in 2011.
- As of 28 October 2010, Alitalia has 53% of the market share on domestic routes (based on seat capacity).
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Alitalia's major shareholders on 13 January 2014, prior to completion of an August, 2014 deal with Etihad Airways where that airline was to take a 49% interest as of 1 January 2015.
§Destinations
Alitalia serves 103 destinations (at July 2014). Alitalia's hub is at Rome Fiumicino Airport, and five other Italian airports are focus cities.
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Alitalia and Alitalia CityLiner have codeshare agreements with the following airlines (as of October 2014):
§SkyTeam
Alitalia has been in the SkyTeam alliance since 2009; Alitalia-LAI originally joined in 2001.
Alitalia has since arranged code-share agreements with SkyTeam members, allowing passengers to fly to numerous destinations (with some or all segments operated by airlines other than Alitalia) using a single Alitalia ticket.
In July 2010, Alitalia joined Air France, KLM and Delta's transatlantic Joint Venture, meaning that the profits from flights across the Atlantic are shared between the four airlines.
§Fleet
As of December 2014, the Alitalia mainline fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Between 2009 and 2011, Alitalia renewed its fleet with the arrival of 34 new aircraft, while 26 older planes retired. Alitalia mainline has an average fleet age of 8.1 years as of April 2013. The renewal process ended in early 2013.
These new planes are not owned by Alitalia itself, but are leased mostly from Aircraft Purchase Fleet Limited, an Irish company owned by Carlo Toto, the ex owner of the bankrupt Air One which was merged with Alitalia-CAI in 2008. The Alitalia-owned planes could be distinguished by the first part of the aircraft registration code. If the airplane is owned by Alitalia, it will be "I" for Italy. If it is leased, it will be "EI" for Ireland.
With the new strategic plan focused on long haul, in January 2015 has been announced that 7 wide-bodies (that now seems to be 3 A330-200, 2 B777-200ER, 3 B777-300ER, but for the 777s the type and the mix is not yet sure) will join the fleet starting from May 2015 with a 330-200 in a new livrey. The 777s maybe will come from Etihad or Etihad Partners. It is planned that these new planes will be mostly owned by Alitalia-SAI and will not be leased from the Irish-based Aircraft Purchase Fleet Limited, unlike the Alitalia-CAI airplanes.
All Airbus A320 family aircraft were refitted with new "slim" leather Recaro seats in 2010. Seatback TV screens for entertainment were installed on some aircraft.
§Special liveries
- In mid-2009, a Boeing 767-300ER (EI-DBP) was painted in the SkyTeam livery.
- On 19 July 2010, a Airbus A320-200 (EI-DSA), which had previously been in the Air One livery, was painted in a special "Alitalia.com" livery.
- In March 2012, a Embraer E-190-100LR (EI-RND) was delivered in the SkyTeam livery.
- In March 2012, a Boeing 777-200ER (EI-DDH) was painted in the SkyTeam livery.
- In April 2012, a Airbus A321-100 (EI-IXI) was painted in the historic livery of Freccia Alata-Linee Aeree Italiane, Alitalia's predecessor. This plane is now stored.
- In November 2013, an Airbus A330-200 (EI-DIR), which had previously been in the Air One livery, was painted in the SkyTeam livery.
- In March 2014 an Airbus A330-200 (EI-EJG) and an Airbus A320-200 (EI-DSM) were painted in a special livery dedicated to Calabria.
- In April 2014 an Airbus A319-100 (EI-IMI) was painted in a special livery dedicated to Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
- In October 2014 an Airbus A330-200 (EI-EJM) was painted in a special livery, in cooperation with its partner Etihad Airways, dedicated to Expo 2015.
§Historical fleet
Over the years, Alitalia has operated the following aircraft types:
§Retired aircraft
The Boeing 767-300ER was introduced to the Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane fleet in 1990, and then retired in 2012 after 22 years of service. The last flight with this aircraft type operated on 25 October 2012 using the plane with registration EI-DDW on flight AZ845 (Accra-Lagos-Rome).
The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 was introduced to the Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane fleet in 1978, and then retired in 2012 after 34 years of service. The last flight with this aircraft type operated on 27 October 2012 using the plane with registration I-DATI on flight AZ1740 (Catania-Milan-Linate). The same aircraft on 17 December 2012 operated a memorial flight from Rome-Fiumicino Airport to Trieste Airport with journalists and ex-Alitalia's CEO Andrea Ragnetti on board. During landing, I-DATI was supported by Frecce Tricolori; they did a show for the occasion. The hostesses on board were dressed in Alitalia's historical uniform.
§Service
Alitalia has four classes of service:
- Classica is Alitalia's economy class. On short and medium haul flights, passengers receive a free drink and a snack or light meal service, depending on the length of the flight. Personal TV screens for entertainment are present in each seat on some Airbus A320 and A319 planes. On long haul flights, passengers receive a free meal service as well as (on most planes) personal TV screens for entertainment.
- Classica plus is Alitalia's Premium Economy, available on some long haul flights. The service is the same as Economy, however passengers get some extra benefits such as extra leg room, dedicated check-in desks and a higher baggage allowance.
- Ottima is Alitalia's short and medium haul business class, with an improved catering service and baggage allowance compared to Classica, as well as a dedicated check-in desk and access to the V.I.P. lounges in the airport.
- Magnifica is Alitalia's long haul business class, with special benefits since the recent upgrade:
- New catering (regionally focused, changing monthly and including a new selection of wines and "spumante" changes prepared in cooperation with the Italian Sommelier Association)
- New blankets, duvets, cushions, and linens by Frette
- New amenity kits by Salvatore Ferragamo
- New china by Richard Ginori
- New flat-bed Magnifica Class seats on Alitalia's Airbus A330-200 and 777 aircraft.
§MilleMiglia
The airline's frequent-flyer programme is named "MilleMiglia" (thousand miles), and is part of the SkyTeam alliance programme, allowing passengers to collect miles and redeem them with free tickets across the whole alliance.
It also grants access to Alitalia's Privilege clubs, Ulisse, Freccia Alata, and Freccia Alata Plus, depending on the number of miles collected in a year, with various advantages depending on the club. These clubs give access to SkyTeam Elite (Ulisse) and SkyTeam Elite+ (Freccia Alata, Freccia Alata plus).
§Incidents and accidents
Listed here are incidents since Alitalia's relaunch of operations on 13 January 2009:
- On 24 April 2011, an attempt was made to hijack Alitalia Flight 329, en route from Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France to Fiumicino Airport, Rome and divert it to Tripoli International Airport, Libya. The hijacker, reported to be an advisor to the Kazakhstan delegation to UNESCO, was subdued by cabin crew and other passengers. He was arrested and taken into custody after the aircraft made a safe landing at Rome.
- On 29 September 2013 at 20:10, an Alitalia Airbus A320 flying from Madrid Barajas Airport to Rome Fiumicino airport failed to deploy the landing gear during a storm on landing and the aircraft toppled, skidded off the runway and crashed. 10 passengers suffered minor injuries and all 151 passengers and crew were evacuated and taken to hospital. The crash is still being investigated.
§See also
- Transport in Italy
- List of airports in Italy
- List of companies of Italy
§Notes
- ^ The company that today is known as Alitalia - Compagnia Aerea Italiana is not to be confused with Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane, which was founded in 1946. Alitalia-LAI is not the same company as the new one. CAI has only been able to acquire in 2009 the callsign, branding rights, and other assets that once belonged to the old Alitalia. Ref: Page 21 of Modello di Organizzazione, Gestione e Controllo ex D.LGS 231/01 Parte Generale - Alitalia - Compagnia Aerea Italiana S.p.A.
§References
§External links
- Official website (Mobile)
- Alitalia Corporate
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