Alitalia chaos, tickets already purchased cannot be used with Italia Trasporto Aereo
The arrival of the public company ITA (Italia Trasporto Aereo) to relaunch Alitalia could already create numerous difficulties for hundreds of thousands [...]
Alitalia
The arrival of the public company ITA (Italia Trasporto Aereo) to revive Alitalia could already create numerous difficulties for hundreds of thousands of passengers. In the first agreement between Rome and Brussels to get the project off the ground, it is stipulated The discontinuity between Alitalia and the new company which translates to In the inability to use tickets already purchased. Those who bought a ticket for fall 2021 and in the following months are therefore at risk of not boarding.
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Italy Air Transport, tickets issued by Alitalia cannot be inherited
According to the latest speculation, Italy Air Transport will take off in September, but will not be able to inherit tickets issued by Alitalia. There is no alternative solution in the plan, and it is not specified what will happen. Obviously, the first solution should be reimbursement, which, according to projections by Corriere della Sera, will cost ITA's coffers About 200 million euros by the end of September. This is no small detail for a company aiming to relaunch Italy's national airline. In addition, an official departure date has not yet been set, a shortcoming that pushes Alitalia to sell tickets for even 2022 flights, consequently increasing the possible refund to be made to passengers. Selling for next year is not unique to Alitalia, but customary for all airlines around the world.
Possible solutions for Alitalia tickets already purchased
Meanwhile, the European Union passes the ball to Italy to seek a solution that can resolve the discontinuity request. The question then remains as to who will have to make the repayment, because Alitalia's coffers do not have sufficient liquidity. The only currently viable hypothesis is the possibility that the government can take up the issue and activate a special fund. Another option would be for passengers to be placed on other flights of Italy Air Transport. Also because the company should operate a network of connections similar to the old Alitalia especially on domestic and European routes. The latter solution, however, must be approved by the European Commission during negotiations in the coming weeks. But there is the bogeyman appeal from other airlines that could accuse Italy of illegal state aid.
The problem of discontinuity
Specifically, the problem of the discontinuity affects everything the aviation arm of Alitalia which includes aircraft, pilots, slots and prepaid tickets. The European Commission did not accept the purchase proposal because it was an element of business continuity. Fabio Lazzerini, CEO of the new company, speculates that Italia Trasporto Aereo could take over the commercial part of Alitalia, around July-August, selling tickets for both Alitalia's flights and those to be operated later by the newco. There is, however, a need to win the okay from theEuropean Union to solve a problem that threatens to slow down the entire operation.
