Overview
Alitalia is an Italian airline that was founded back in 1946 and was then known as the Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali. Alitalia’s main hub is located at the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, with focus cities such as the Linate Airport, Bologna Airport, Malpensa Airport, Catania-Fontanaros Airport, Naples International Airport, Venice Marco Polo Airport, and Turin International Airport. The airline’s has the MilleMiglia for its frequent flyer program, with Club Freccia Alata, Sky Team Elite, and Welcome Air One for its member lounges. Alitalia has a strong alliance with SkyTeam, with Alitalia Express and Volare Airlines as the airline’s subsidiaries. Based in Rome, Italy, Alitalia flies to 70 destinations with a fleet size of 148.
Company Profile
Alitalia is actually the 19th largest passenger airline all over the world in terms of its fleet size. Its operations extend to 66 international destinations as well as 24 domestic destinations. The airline’s main hub is located in Rome, though there was a time when the Malpensa Airport in Milan was one of its hubs back then. The airline’s top 12 routes all hail from the main airport of Rome, where it easily has a 53% share of all domestic flights.
Company History
It was in September 16, 1946 when Alitalia – Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. was established and was given the name of Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali. It was from this name that the shortened name of Alitalia was borne. Operations commenced on May 5, 1947l and during this year, more than 10,000 passengers were transported by the airline.
On October 31, 1957, Alitalia made the decision to merge with Linee Aeree Italiane and then took on its new name – Alitalia Linee Aeree Italiane. During this time, 49% of the airline was owned by the Italian Ministry of the Treasury. The remaining 51% was comprised of shareholders – including employees – and Air France-KLM.
The year 1990 saw Alitalia carrying over 25 million passengers already – from both international flights and domestic flights. By 1997, the airline was able to establish its regional subsidiary, Alitalia Express, and the airline soon after became part of the SkyTeam Alliance. However, in November 2003, the airline decided to cut their costs and let go of 2,700 jobs during the next 3 years. This was done in preparation for the airline’s merger with Air France and KLM.
Alitalia’s Fleet
As of March 2009, the airline has operated the following aircraft models: Airbus A319, Airbus A320-214, Airbus A320-216, Airbus A321-112, Airbus A330-202, Boeing 737-300, Boeing 737-400, Boeing 767-300ER, Boeing 777-200ER, Bombardier CRJ 900, Embraer ERJ-170, and the McDonnell Douglas MD-82.
