RI DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – For those who have not followed the Alitalia soap opera, the traditional Italian airline was founded in 1946 and went bankrupt in 2008. After that, another company was formed with the profitable assets – which was suggestively baptized as “new Alitalia.
It didn’t work: with the same bad financial habits, it closed its doors in 2017 and was nationalized. And now there will be a third attempt, under the name ITA.
Do not be surprised that the nickname is the same as the recently opened (and Brazilian) division of Itapemirim. In the case of Europeans, it is an acronym for Italia Trasporto Aereo.
With no buyer because of the pandemic, it was up to the government itself to take over operations, after an agreement with the European Union, to start flying with what was left of the predecessor and re-start on October 15.
According to the plan published by the company, 52 aircraft from the “old-new Alitalia” fleet will be kept – yes, it is really confusing. Of this total, only seven will be widebody models for long-haul flights. But the goal is to have 105 aircraft in the hangars by 2025 when routes should also rise from 61 to 74 routes.
There will be two hubs for ITA: Milan Linate airport, which will keep 85% of the slots that belonged to Alitalia, and Rome Fiumicino airport, with 43% of the slots preserved. In June next year, when summer begins in the northern hemisphere, the new company will fly new international routes, including to Guarulhos (SP) and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
ITA’s shareholders approved a capital increase to 700 million euros and expect to reach financial equilibrium in the third quarter of 2023.
The forecast is to achieve profits of 209 million euros in four years. And by then, in 2025, the workforce should grow from the current 2,950 to 5,700 employees.