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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

Alitalia

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Italian international airline with headquarters in Rome. Although the airline no longer commands monopoly status in its country, as of 2002 the Italian government still owned a majority share of the company.

For more information on Alitalia, visit Britannica.com.

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Alitalia

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This article is about the new Alitalia. For the old Alitalia, see Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane.
Alitalia
Compagnia Aerea Italiana
IATA
AZ		 ICAO
AZA		 Callsign
ALITALIA
Founded 26 August 2008
Commenced operations 13 January 2009
Hubs Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport (Rome)
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer program MilleMiglia
Airport lounge
  • Club Freccia Alata
  • Welcome Air One
  • SkyTeam Elite
Alliance SkyTeam
Subsidiaries
Fleet size 141 (+26 orders)
Destinations 86 (41 countries)
Parent company CAI (75%)
Air France-KLM (25%)
Headquarters Fiumicino, Italy
Key people Andrea Ragnetti (CEO)
Roberto Colaninno (Chairman)
Revenue increase 3,478 million € (2011)
Operating income decrease -6 million € (2011)
Net income decrease -69 million € (2011)
Website www.alitalia.com
Airbus A320-200 in current Alitalia livery
Boeing 777-200ER in Singapore in 2010.
The interior of an Alitalia McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (2006)

Alitalia — Compagnia Aerea Italiana S.p.A. (English: Alitalia — Italian Air Company), operating as Alitalia, is the flag carrier and national airline of Italy, which took over the name, the landing rights, many planes and some other assets from the liquidation process of the old Alitalia — Linee Aeree Italiane and the entire Air One. The company has its head office in Fiumicino, Italy.[1] Its main hub is Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, Rome.

Alitalia is Italy's biggest airline, and the world's 19th.[2] The name "Alitalia" is an Italian portmanteau of the words ali (wings), and Italia (Italy).[3]

Contents

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.[4]

On 30 October 2008 CAI offered €1,000 million to acquire parts of the bankrupt airline, amidst pilots' and flight crew members' opposition to labour agreements.[5]

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 bankrupting airline.[6] Alitalia's profitable assets were transferred to CAI on 12 December 2008 after CAI paid €1.052 billion, consisting of €427 million in cash and the assumption of responsibility for €625 million in Alitalia debt.[7]

On 13 January 2009 the "new" Alitalia re-launched operations. The owners of Compagnia Aerea Italiana sold 25% of the company's shares to Air France-KLM for €322 million. Air France-KLM also obtained an option, subject to certain conditions, to purchase additional shares after 2013. The French as well as the Italian boards agreed to the sale.[8]

History under new ownership

In January 2010, Alitalia celebrated its first birthday since the relaunch. It carried 22 million passengers in its first year of operations.[9] In 2011, 25 million passengers were carried.[10]

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.[11]

On 11 February 2010, Alitalia announced that, starting from the summer season, it would be using Air One as a "low-fare" airline, with operations based in Milan Malpensa Airport, focused on short-haul leisure routes. With 10 airplanes by July 2012 (Airbus A320), Alitalia hopes to carry 3 million passengers in 2012 from Milan Malpensa (compared to 1.5 million in 2009), of which 2.4 million will be carried by the new Air One "Smart Carrier".[12] In 2011, 1.4 million passengers were carried by the subsidiary.[10]

On 12 February 2011, information was released about a possible merger between Alitalia and Meridiana Fly, another Italian carrier,[13] however the airlines are still independent as of March 2012.

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.[14]

Slogans

A variety of different slogans are currently being used by Alitalia:

  • "Alitalia vola con te" (Alitalia flies with you)[15]
  • "Fatti per volare alto" (Made to fly high)[16]
  • "Alitalia, al lavoro per te" (Alitalia, working for you)[17]
  • "Muoviamo chi muove l'Italia" (We move the people that keep Italy going) [18]
  • "The pleasure of flying Made in Italy"[19]

The old Alitalia, since 2005, year in which the new modernised logo and livery were introduced, also used a mix of slogans:[20]

  • "Volare, nella tua vita" (Flying, in your life)
  • "Volare in compagnia dell'Italia" (Fly Italian)

Airline operations

Alitalia head office in Fiumicino

Administration

Alitalia's head office is located in Piazza Almerico da Schio, Pal. RPU – 00054 Fiumicino (RM).[21] The chairman of the airline is Roberto Colaninno; the first chief executive officer since the relaunch was Rocco Sabelli, replaced by Andrea Ragnetti on 28 February 2012 .[10]

Compagnia Aerea Italiana (CAI), a consortium that bought all the profitable activities of the old Alitalia and Air One in 2008,[22] holds a 75% stake in Alitalia, while Air France holds the other 25%.[23]

Finance and load factors

Alitalia Self Check-in machines at Florence Peretola Airport
Alitalia Financial and operational results
Year Operating profit (€ millions) Load Factor (%) On-time (%)
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Average Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Average
2009[24][25] -210 -63 15 -15 -273 51 65 74 70 65 72 72 ND ND 72
2010[26][27][28][29] -125 -4 56 -34 -107 65 71 76 72 71 82 83 ND ND 80
2011[10][30][31][32] -86 17 90 -27 -6 64 72 78 77 73 91 85 86 80 86
2012[33] -109 × × × -109 69 × × × 69 88 × × × 88

ND = No Data

  • As of 29 July 2009 Alitalia is the first airline for domestic flights in Italy and was the third airline for international flights to/from Italy. As of 4 October 2010 Alitalia has overtaken Easyjet in this respect and is therefore in second place.[34][35]
  • 2010 was an "uphill struggle" for Alitalia, whereas a break-even was almost achieved in 2011, despite the difficulties arising from high fuel costs and recent regional troubles in Japan and North Africa. Alitalia have said in a press release that the prospects for 2012 are "still challenging".[10][25]
  • Alitalia was nominated as Europe's most punctual airline in 2010,[36] and as one of the world's five most punctual airlines in 2011.[10]
  • As of 28 October 2010, Alitalia has 53% of the market share on domestic routes (based on seat capacity).[28]

Destinations

Main article: Alitalia destinations

Alitalia, including flights operated by its subsidiary Air One Smart Carrier, serves 86 destinations; 27 domestic and 59 international, in 40 countries (at October 2011). Alitalia's Hub is at Rome Fiumicino Airport, and six other Italian airports are focus cities. Air One's operating bases are at Milan Malpensa Airport, Pisa Airport and Venice Marco Polo Airport.[37]

Codeshare agreements

Alitalia has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[38]

Fleet

As of June 2012, the combined Alitalia fleet including Alitalia (AZ) and Alitalia CityLiner (CT) consists of the following aircraft:[39]

Alitalia Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
J Y+ Y Total
Airbus A319-100 18 4 var. 0 var. 138° Deliveries during 2012 replacing MD-82
Airbus A320-200 49 10 var. 0 var. 165° Deliveries during 2013 replacing MD-82
Airbus A321-100 23 0 var. 0 var. 200°
Airbus A330-200 8 2 28 21 181 230 Deliveries during 2012 replacing Boeing 767-300ER
2 0 20 0 263 283 Being phased out by 2013
Boeing 767-300ER 3 0 20 0 218 238 Being phased out by 2013
Boeing 777-200ER 10 0 42 0 249 291 Being converted to 293 seats by July 2012
30 24 239 293
Bombardier CRJ900ER 9 0 0 0 0 90 Being phased out by 2013
Embraer E-175LR 5 10 12 0 76 88 Deliveries until 2013 replacing CRJ900
Embraer E-190LR 5 0 16 0 84 100
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 9 0 22 0 119 141 Being phased out by 2013
0 0 164 164
Total 141 26

°Considering all-economy configuration

Since 2009, Alitalia has renewed its fleet with the arrival of 34 new aircraft, while 26 older planes have retired. A press release has stated that Alitalia now has an average fleet age of 8.2 years. In 2012, at least 20 new planes will join and 16 old planes will leave the Alitalia fleet.[10]

  • All Airbus A320 family aircraft have been refitted with new "slim" leather Recaro seats. PTV screens are installed on some aircraft.[27]
  • Alitalia was in 2010 considering the Russian regional Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft, with a possible order for 20, but in the end chose to order Embraer 190 aircraft to update its regional fleet instead, because the Superjets weren't available for immediate delivery, as they still needed to be certified.[40]
  • On 23 February 2011, Alitalia and ENAC announced the introduction of the Safety Card written in braille and characters in 3-D relief, which has been introduced on scheduled flights for the first time in the world.[41]

Special liveries

SkyTeam:

  • In mid 2009, Alitalia painted one of their Boeing 767-300ER (EI-DBP) in a special SkyTeam livery.
  • In March 2012, the Embraer E190LR with registration EI-RND was delivered in SkyTeam livery (EI-RND).
  • In March 2012, the Boeing 777-200ER with registration EI-DDH was painted in SkyTeam livery (EI-DDH).

Other:

  • On 19 July 2010, the Airbus A320-200 with registration EI-DSA, which had previously been in the Air One livery, was painted into a special "Alitalia.com" livery (EI-DSA).
  • In April 2012, the Airbus A321-100 with registration EI-IXI was painted in historic livery Freccia Alata-Linee Aeree Italiane (EI-IXI).

Historical fleet

Over the years, Alitalia has operated the following aircraft types (including Alitalia CityLiner, Alitalia Express and aircraft inherited from Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane):

Alitalia Historical Fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired
Airbus A319 2002
Airbus A320 1999
Airbus A321 1994
Airbus A330-200 2009
Boeing 767-300ER 1995
Boeing 777-200ER 2002
Bombardier CRJ900 2009
Embraer E-170LR 2004 2012
Embraer E-175LR 2011
Embraer E-190LR 2011
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 1983

Service

Alitalia has four classes of service:[42]

  • Classica, the name given to Alitalia's economy class. On short and medium haul flights passengers receive a free drinks 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 legroom, dedicated check-in desk and higher baggage allowance.
  • Ottima, Alitalia's short and medium haul business class, with an improved catering service and baggage allowance compared to Economy, 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 / linens by Frette
    • New amenity kits by Bulgari
    • New china by Richard Ginori
    • New Magnifica Class seats on Alitalia's Airbus A330-200 aircraft deliveries are flat-bed seats which can be seen here. They are also being retrofitted on the 10 B777 aircraft.[43]

SkyTeam

A Boeing 767-300ER, registered as EI-DBP, is seen here in SkyTeam livery (2010)

The new Alitalia inherited Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane's membership of the SkyTeam alliance. Alitalia-LAI originally joined in 2001.[44]

Alitalia has since opened up code-share agreements with SkyTeam members, allowing passengers to fly to numerous destinations using a single Alitalia ticket.[45]

In July 2010, Alitalia joined leading SkyTeam members Air France, KLM and Delta's Transatlantic Joint Venture, meaning that the profits on flights across the Atlantic are shared between the four airlines.[46]

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.[47]

It also grants access to Alitalia's Privilege clubs, Ulisse, Freccia Alata, and finally Freccia Alata Plus, depending on how many miles you have 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).[47]

Incidents and accidents

Listed here are incidents since Alitalia's relaunch of operations on 13 January 2009:

  • On 17 February 2010, an Alitalia flight from Rome to Cairo, Egypt with 157 passengers, had to make an emergency landing in Cairo after a reported bomb threat. A notable passenger on the flight was Egyptian Tourism Minister Zuheir Garana.[48]
  • 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.[49]

See also

Portal icon Rome portal
Portal icon Aviation portal
Portal icon Companies portal


References

  1. ^ "Copyright." Alitalia. Retrieved on 9 June 2010.
  2. ^ "Alitalia". Foundation for Corporate Responsibility. http://www.fcsr.pl/members/alitalia/. Retrieved 29 January 2012. "Alitalia is the world's 19th largest passenger airline by fleet size. Italy’s largest airline, Alitalia..." 
  3. ^ "Alitalians Do it Better: The Italian Revival". airport-technology.com. 24 March 2011. http://www.airport-technology.com/features/feature114082/. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  4. ^ CAI - integration of Alitalia and Air One
  5. ^ "UPDATE 3 - Italy agrees sale of Alitalia to CAI consortium". Reuters. 19 November 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/11/19/alitalia-idUSLJ63192820081119. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  6. ^ (Italian)"Alitalia, Fantozzi accetta l'offerta di Cai: 1.052 milioni". SKY TG 24. 21 November 2008. http://tg24.sky.it/tg24/economia/2008/11/21/Alitalia_Fantozzi_accetta_lofferta_di_Cai_1.052_milioni.html. 
  7. ^ The problems of the old Alitalia LAI + CAI's offers
  8. ^ "Air France-KLM buys 25% of Alitalia". Financial Times. 12 January 2009. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/776c5c2c-e0ce-11dd-b0e8-000077b07658.html. 
  9. ^ Alitalia passengers 2009
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Alitalia press release concerning results obtained in 2011 24 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  11. ^ Alitalia crew go on 4 hour strike over wages
  12. ^ Air One plans from Milan Malpensa, 3 million pax by 2012 (Italian) TTG Italia, 11 February 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  13. ^ Alitalia and Meridiana Fly are in merger talks Bloomberg; retrieved on 12 February 2011.
  14. ^ Alitalia plans merger with Blue Panorama and Wind Jet Flightglobal; retrieved on 26 January 2012.
  15. ^ The Alitalia "Per tutti è Alitalia" ad uses the slogan "Alitalia vola con te"
  16. ^ Slogan: Fatti per volare alto
  17. ^ Alitalia displays the slogan "Alitalia, al lavoro per te" at its Hub, Rome Fiumicino Airport
  18. ^ An Alitalia A320 has been painted into a special livery with the slogan "Muoviamo chi muove l'Italia"
  19. ^ Alitalia's homepage features the slogan "The pleasure of flying Made in Italy"
  20. ^ The slogans which were used by Alitalia-LAI in its last years
  21. ^ "Registered Office". Alitalia. http://corporate.alitalia.it/en/group/sede_legale.htm. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  22. ^ "Italian investor group formally takes over Alitalia". AFP. 2008-12-13. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h04l49V4p_EENo-dy36jIflmS6gw. 
  23. ^ "Air France-KLM takes Alitalia stake". Euronews. 1 December 2009. http://www.euronews.net/2009/01/12/air-france-klm-takes-alitalia-stake/. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  24. ^ Alitalia Financial Report Q1-2 2009
  25. ^ a b Alitalia expects 270mln loss for 2009
  26. ^ Alitalia 1st Q 2010 results
  27. ^ a b Alitalia's mid-2010 press release
  28. ^ a b Alitalia third quarter 2010 results
  29. ^ Press Release for 2010 results (Italian)
  30. ^ Alitalia Q1 2011 results (Italian) Retrieved on 11 May 2011.
  31. ^ Alitalia first half 2011 results
  32. ^ Alitalia Q3 2011 results (Italian)
  33. ^ (Italian)Alitalia: ricavi +13%, cresce quota marcato primo trimeste
  34. ^ Alitalia - Top domestic airline, third internationally
  35. ^ Internationally Alitalia is now second only to Ryanair Retrieved on 13 October 2010.
  36. ^ Alitalia first place in 2010 for punctuality among AEA airlines (Italian) AEA survey 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  37. ^ Alitalia Winter Network Guide
  38. ^ Alitalia's code-shares are listed in Ulisse (Alitalia's on-board magazine), destinations section, January 2012 edition.
  39. ^ Alitalia fleet numbers are available in the onboard magazine Ulisse, May 2012 edition - "Our Fleet".
  40. ^ Embraer wins in Alitalia's regional jet contest Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  41. ^ Alitalia and ENAC press release 23 February 2011
  42. ^ Alitalia's four classes of travel From Alitalia's website. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  43. ^ Alitalia B777 seat maps showing reconfiguration in progress Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  44. ^ Alitalia originally joined SkyTeam in 2001
  45. ^ SkyTeam members Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  46. ^ Alitalia join's Air Frane-KLM and Delta's Transatlantic Joint Venture
  47. ^ a b "Welcome on board the MilleMiglia program". Alitalia. http://www.alitalia.com/US_EN/millemiglia/index.aspx. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  48. ^ Alitalia flight makes emergency landing due to bomb threat
  49. ^ Hradecky, Simon (24 April 2011). "Accident: Alitalia A321 enroute on Apr 24th 2011, attempted hijack". Aviation Herald. http://avherald.com/h?article=43b7e3ef&opt=1. Retrieved 25 April 2011. 

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