Italy

In a major step forward for the reincarnated Italian airline Air Italy, the airline flew its first ever flight in its new branding from its home base at Milan’s Malpensa Airport to New York’s JFK Airport. The joint venture between Alisarda, the controlling shareholder, and Qatar Airways aims to displace Alitalia, Italy’s current national carrier […]

At Boeing’s Everett facility on Friday, Air Italy took delivery of its first 737 MAX 8 aircraft, EI-GFY. The aircraft was unveiled and showed off to VIP dignitaries and guests and was met with plenty of optimism for the future of the Italian aviation industry. The aircraft is just one of the twenty expected to […]

The Italian Minister of Industry Carlo Calenda confirmed that the mandate of the Special Administrative Council formed to deal with the Alitalia bankruptcy last year has been extended until October, when a final ruling about the three offers presented will be made. Despite first impressions of a quick resolution after the presidential elections held in […]

After the excitement of the Italian general elections was over, the future of Alitalia entered a stage of definitions. The commissioners of the extraordinary administration process decided a few months ago to postpone any ruling about Alitalia’s future until the elections passed. The measure was logical and necessary, since moving forward with the sale or […]

The Italian aviation market continues to provide headlines as it was announced on Monday that Sardinian-based carrier Meridiana would be rebranded as Air Italy with fleet expansion plans and a base at Milan Malpensa. The announcement confirms months of speculation that a shake-up of the operation was imminent after Qatar Airways acquired a 49 percent […]

Alitalia and Aerolíneas Argentinas announced on February 1 the signature of a Joint Business Agreement (JBA), which will allow both airlines to coordinate commercial efforts to provide business and leisure travelers with wider and better travel choices, more convenient schedules and a wider selection of customer proposition. Both members of the Skyteam alliance, and code-sharing since […]

The state-owned flag carrier based in Doha, Qatar Airways, announced that it has finalized a deal with Sardinia-based airline Meridiana, to purchase a 49 percent stake in the Italian carrier, while Meridiana’s parent company will retain the other 51 percent of the airline. Meridiana, which operates a small fleet of 16 airplanes and flies to […]

Just yesterday, Alitalia, the flag carrier of Italy, announced it would end its partnership with Air France – KLM. While most may regard this as a rejection by the bigger carriers for not seeing Alitalia as a viable partner, this is one of many steps Alitalia has taken since its partial acquisition by Etihad Airways […]