Goodbye Alitalia, dear ITA this time you can't go wrong
Update 9 p.m. Italy's new national airline will be called Alitalia. After private negotiations for 90 million [...]
ITA Airways
Alitalia
Update 9 p.m. Italy's new national airline will be called Alitalia. After private negotiations for 90 million euros, Ita acquired ownership of the Alitalia brand and all related assets such as the website alitalia.com, social profiles, logo and any other distinctive symbols. This means that from tomorrow morning ITA will take off under its new name, which is Alitalia, and most importantly, it will not have to repaint the old aircraft from Alitalia.
In this first year of this site's operation, I have never hidden my love for the tricolor vector. I don't remember when I joined the Millemiglia program, but I am sure I will regret my 1555800 card..
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I have no idea how many flights I took with Alitalia, probably more than 250 routes, However, I remember how many flights were canceled for me, and the number is one: a transit from Fiumicino to Ancona. I consider myself lucky because even with Ryanair I have never had any cancelled flights or experienced monstrous delays. Of course, I like to travel off-season and this has always prevented me from spending mid-August in the airport in Palermo, and anyway even if it had happened I would always be protected by my free travel insurance. For the same route/price, I always preferred AZ to all other companies because it was Alitalia.
I lost count of the number of award tickets taken with Alitalia Using miles, the companion and milesback, that is, all the possible shortcuts to accumulate points in Alitalia's loyalty program. I am part of what I consider to be the small percentage of Millemiglia members who have had a positive give/take balance in recent years, I have never let my points expire, never missed an opportunity. Unlike a lot of people who tell me "I can never use them, I don't know how you get seats in Magnifica".
I used the Payback card and fact the shopping at the Coop, I tried when I could to take advantage of all the bonuses to increase my balance and today, the last day of the company's life, in the my wallet is left with about 400k Millemiglia points, along with 3 American Express Alitalia credit cards And 5 accrued and unused companion vouchers. A mini-tragedy.
In these hectic hours of transition, Between the switch off of Alitalia and the takeoff of ITA, I am really curious to see how the many open games will turn out starting with the name. Will the new company still be called Alitalia? Will its ticket code still be 055 ? Will the flight identifier still be AZ ? Or will everything be new?
In any case, the new company will not be seen until next spring, when you start to see the first new aircraft And when the issues are likely to be resolved. On the future alliance, on the new loyalty program and most importantly we will be in a world that is open again and where people can travel without going crazy in bureaucracy.
I took my last flight with the "old" Alitalia, the one born in 1946, just a few days ago: the route was Palermo-Linate, it was an ordinary flight on an ordinary plane. In any case, it went much better than my last Linate/Fiumicino flight this summer.
I would have loved to have been on the first flight of the new company, but fortunately I waited to book it since (news just in). has already been cancelled. At the moment, I actually do not have any tickets for the new ITA, I hope to book soon. In the meantime, my strategies have diversified and, for example, I'm flying Air France tomorrow to Bangkok, and by the time I get back to Italy, I will have enough XP to get Gold level in the loyalty program in Flying Blue and then Staying elite in the Skyteam alliance Which will be orphaned by Alitalia.
Why the new company can make it
Foreword. I'm not an expert in the field, I don't have 5 master's degrees in airline management. If Italy is the nation where everyone is a soccer CT, then I try to be a TFC guru.
- The pandemic has shuffled the cards for everyone, but likewise, traffic is returning to growth faster than all the CEOs and experts predicted, is evidenced by the fact that the A380s destined for the scrap heap, such as 747s, are quickly returning to service in those companies that had not yet decided how to dispose of them.
- La ITA's announced fleet is the real change of course with the past, since AZ was a leading carrier and flew to every part of the world we have seen management relaunching the carrier without ever investing in iron.
- Goodbye Skyteam, or at least goodbye to the leash that prevented AZ from opening all the routes it wanted to the U.S., the most profitable, no matter what the new alliance will be. The only thing that matters is that CEO Lazzerini's men can choose to fly where they want and when they want.
- It changes the head, but it also changes many arms. I have always maintained that one of the problems that gripped the company was personnel. Everything indiscriminately from the traveling staff to the white collar workers to the managers and the meddling of Italian politics. The new company will be very different, there will be many former but also many new ones, and the hope is that new people will take example from those who can do things well and not from the typical mentality of "...we've always done it this way."
- Last but not least, this lightened and cleaned-up company will eventually be palatable for other carriers interested in pocketing the tens of millions of passengers who fly to Italy each year.
Because the new company will end up in the dust like the others
- The pandemic has strengthened the lowcost Who have taken almost all of Italy, the Milan/Rome train is always faster and there will be fewer work shifts replaced by virtual dating via Zoom.
- The head has changed, but it may not be enough. The product of Magnificent over the long haul has always been of a very good standard, but what was lacking was the traveling staff and the quality of service on the ground and in short to medium haul. If the arms will not accept the new orders from above, the Italian traveler will continue to fly Ryanair, sometimes paying even more, and getting pissed off saying AZ is even worse.
- Too much time wasted. Today, the eve of the first flight, we still don't know too much starting with the name. The new fleet will barely arrive in time for the summer season and not all of it. It lacks the alliance and it lacks the loyalty program, and most of all it lacks the planes to fly since they will be less than half of what was there. The other companies are already eating off the plate that was AZ's.
- The negative mood. AZ has been in crisis for almost 20 years and many Italians prefer other carriers rather than lose money, points and time. Others don't want to be part of yet another relaunch given the black hole that has devoured billions of euros over this period.
In conclusion
We will see from tomorrow what future will be built for the new Italian flag carrier, at the moment, however, even the date of October 15 does not bode well, since it is the same date chosen by the government for the green pass to take effect and all the protests that will erupt in the coming hours. In any case, I will be watching them from the heat of Thailand, and I hope that when I return, serenity has also returned to the company.
