If that headline seems puzzling, it’s because it accurately reflects a puzzling situation, in which the long saga of public-then private-then bankrupt-then public ownership of Italy’s flag carrier is finally coming to an end, with the extinction of the name, and the formation of ITA, officially Italia Trasporto Aereo.
The new airline, still in public ownership will start flying October 15, the same day that Alitalia closes. EU regulators, who have allowed the Italian government to pour billions in loans and grants to keeping Alitalia flying, insisted that for competition reasons, the new airline must be separate, and not responsible for Alitalia’s debts.
ITA will start by buying big chunks of Alitalia’s assets, including planes and, crucially, airport slots as well as its operating systems. Much of the staff will transfer also, but not all, because this will be a much smaller airline. There will be 3,000 staff rather than 11,000; 53 planes rather nearly twice that many.
The Alitalia name is up for grabs, too, in an auction of assets that ITA can participate in but only with other bidders. One person who’s been following the Alitalia saga has suggested that buying the name might be cheaper than repainting all the planes.
The new airline operate hubs and international flights from Rome Fiumicino and Milan’s older Linate Airport, as well as domestic feeder flights to 21 Italian cities. It’s acquiring about 85% of Alitalia’s Rome slots and 45% of its Milan slots; low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and EasyJet have been buying up the rest. ITA’s initial long-haul destinations are focused on the U.S. and Japa, including routes to New York, Boston, Miami and Tokyo. It plans to add more later.
One major item for which there’s no public word so far: What happens to tickets for Alitalia flights after October 15th? ITA will begin selling tickets in August, and many of the Alitalia tickets may be for routes the new company will fly—but can they legally be vouchered over? If not, then under EU rules, Alitalia will be forced to pay out refunds at a time when it is having trouble making payroll. Puzzlingly, as of today, Alitalia is still offering tickets for flights well into next year!
And another: Alitalia, which formerly had close ties with Delta and Air France/KLM, has been a member of the Sky Team alliance. Will ITA continue that, or join one of the other alliances or none? Stay tuned!
