Airline «ITA Airways»

ITA Airways is the national carrier of Italy. It is planned that the airline will become the owner of many assets of the former Italian flag carrier Alitalia.The airline operates flights to more than 64 scheduled domestic, European and several intercontinental destinations. ITA Airways is a member of the SkyTeam global aviation alliance.

Italy’s flag carrier, Alitalia, has been operating since 1946. It was owned by the Italian government until 2009 when it became a private company after a reorganization and merger with the bankrupt Italian airline Air One. Alitalia reorganized again in 2015 after receiving investment from Etihad Airways, with Air France-KLM already holding a minority stake. After several failed attempts to make the airline profitable, the airline was placed under emergency management in 2017, just days after Etihad Airways ended support for Alitalia. On 17 May 2017, after the government ruled out nationalization of the airline, it was officially put up for auction.

After several unsuccessful negotiations with Delta Air Lines, EasyJet, the Italian railway company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and China Eastern Airlines, the Italian government took over the airline in March 2020. The government takeover was based in part on the belief that the airline would not be able to weather the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic on its own. On October 10, 2020, the Italian government signed a decree allowing the airline to reorganize into Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A.

On October 28, 2020, it was reported that ITA was to buy several assets from Alitalia — Società Aerea Italiana SpA, including the Alitalia and Alitalia CityLiner brand and flight codes, the IATA ticket code (055), the MilleMiglia frequent flyer ticket and London Heathrow airport slots (68 weekly slots in summer and 65 in winter). The deal was expected to cost €220 million.

However, on January 8, 2021, the European Commission sent a letter to Italy’s Permanent Representative to the European Union urging Italy to launch an «open, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional tender» for the sale of Alitalia’s assets. The letter consists of 62 requests for clarification, rejecting the idea that the old carrier could have sold its property to the new company in private negotiations. The letter stated that the ITA should not retain the Alitalia brand as it is a symbolic indicator of continuity. The European Commission has proposed that the combined aviation, ground handling and maintenance businesses be sold separately to a third party. It was also proposed to sell the slots, and the MilleMiglia program as a whole could not be transferred to a new legal entity.

On August 26, 2021, the ITA officially launched ticket sales on its newly launched website.

On August 27, 2021, ITA applied for a tax exemption and foreign air carrier permit with the US Department of Transportation. The document mentions intentions to start flights to New York, Boston and Miami in 2021, to Los Angeles and Washington in 2022, and to Chicago and San Francisco in 2023. The same document states that prior to the start of flights scheduled for October 15, 2021, ITA will acquire certain assets from Alitalia — Società Aerea Italiana SpA, and this ITA will also participate in a public tender to acquire the Alitalia brand.

On September 30, 2021, the ITA announced that the airline will work with Airbus as a «strategic partner» with the airline, including announcements about the future of the ITA fleet. The airline also announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for the purchase of 10 Airbus A330neo, 7 Airbus A220 and 11 Airbus A320neo aircraft; along with an agreement with Air Lease Corporation (ALC) to lease an additional 31 new Airbus aircraft (including the lease of the Airbus A350-900).

On October 29, 2021, the ITA announced that it had officially joined the SkyTeam alliance.

On 24 January 2022, the ITA announced that MSC Group and Lufthansa had expressed interest in becoming the majority owner of the Italian airline, with the Italian government retaining a minority stake. On March 10, 2022, fellow SkyTeam members Delta Air Lines and the Air France-KLM group also expressed interest in investing in ITA by teaming up with investment firm Certares. Indigo Partners also showed interest, leaving a total of three interested parties. After the deadline expired on 23 May 2022, only MSC/Lufthansa and Air France-KLM/Certares applied for the ITA.