This article is about the flag carrier of Italy. For other uses, seeITA (disambiguation).
For the defunct airline that was formerly Italy's flag carrier, seeAlitalia.
You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Italian. (October 2021)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the Italian article.
Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at [[:it:ITA Airways]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template{{Translated|it|ITA Airways}} to thetalk page.
The airline was founded in 2020 as a successor to the bankruptAlitalia. The airline flies to over 70 scheduled domestic, European, and intercontinental destinations.[7] Its mainhub is theRome Fiumicino Airport and afocus city isMilan Linate Airport. In 2025, ITA Airways announced that the airline will be ending its membership inSkyTeam[8] to joinStar Alliance in 2026, as part of the airline's integration into the Lufthansa Group.[9][10][11]
Italy's flag carrierAlitalia had been in operation since 1946. It was owned by theItalian government until 2009 when it became a private company after reorganizing and merging with the bankrupt Italian airlineAir One.[12] Alitalia reorganized again in 2015 after receiving an investment fromEtihad Airways, withAir France-KLM already owning a minority stake.[13][14] With multiple failed attempts to make the airline profitable, the airline was placed under extraordinary administration in 2017 just days after Etihad Airways ended its support of Alitalia.[15] On 17 May 2017, after the government ruled outnationalizing the airline, it was officially put on the auction block.[16]
On 28 October 2020, it was reported that ITA was expected to buy several assets from Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., including the brand and the flight codes of Alitalia andAlitalia CityLiner, theIATA ticketing code (055), the MilleMiglia frequent-flyer program, and airport slots atLondon Heathrow (68 weekly slots in summer and 65 in winter). The transaction was expected to cost €220 million.[21]
However, on 8 January 2021, theEuropean Commission sent a letter to theItalian Permanent Representative to the European Union calling for Italy to launch an "open, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional tender" to shed Alitalia assets.[22] The letter consisted of 62 requests for clarification, rejecting the idea that the old carrier could sell its assets to the new company with no open bidding. The letter stated that ITA should not retain the Alitalia brand since the brand is an emblematic indicator of continuity. The European Commission suggested that the combined aviation, ground handling, and maintenance businesses should be sold separately to a third party. It also suggested that slots must be sold, and that the MilleMiglia program in its entirety could not be transferred to the new corporate entity.[23]
On 26 August 2021, ITA officially opened ticket sales on its newly launched website.[24]
On 27 August 2021, ITA applied for an Exemption and a Foreign Air Carrier Permit with theUnited States Department of Transportation.[25] The document noted the airline's intention to start flying toNew York-JFK,Boston andMiami in 2021,Los Angeles andWashington-Dulles in 2022, andChicago-O'Hare andSan Francisco in 2023. The same document stated that before the start of its flight operations, planned for 15 October 2021, ITA would acquire certain assets from Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., and that ITA would also participate in a public tender to acquire the "Alitalia" brand.
On 30 September 2021, ITA announced that it would work withAirbus as a "strategic partner", providing details of its fleet plans.[26][27] The airline announced aMemorandum of Understanding with Airbus for the purchase of 10 Airbus A330neo, 7 Airbus A220 and 11 Airbus A320neo aircraft, for a total of 28, along with an agreement withAir Lease Corporation to lease an additional 31 new Airbus aircraft, including theAirbus A350-900.[28][27]
On 22 October 2021, former Alitalia employees who had not been rehired protested against ITA. Women at the demonstration shouted slogans wearing only white nightgowns. Company CEO Alfredo Altavilla called the protest "a national shame".[29]
ITA officially joined theSkyTeam alliance on 29 October 2021, but for the time being only for one year until new owners have been found and a long-term strategy has been made.[citation needed]
Starting on 2 December 2021, ITA started carrying flights with thePope when making pastoral andstate visits to a country starting withPope Francis, replacing Alitalia for most outbound papal flights.[citation needed] The Pope's flight is often nicknamed "Shepherd One" by the press, while the actual callsign is "Volo Papale" (papal flight, in Italian) followed by a serial number.[30]
It was reported in January 2022 that ITA had acquired the Alitalia brand in the fall of 2021 for €90 million, with plans to resume using the name in some fashion.[31][32]
On 24 January 2022, ITA announced thatMSC Group andLufthansa Group had expressed an interest in becoming majority owners of the Italian airline, with the Italian Government keeping a minority stake.[33][34] On 10 March 2022, fellow SkyTeam membersDelta Air Lines andAir France-KLM also expressed interest in investing in ITA, by teaming up with investment firm Certares.[35]Indigo Partners also expressed interest, leaving a total of three interested parties.[36] After the deadline ended on 23 May 2022, only MSC/Lufthansa and Air France-KLM/Certares bid for ITA.[37] As of 31 August 2022, the Italian government has stated their preference for the Air France-KLM/Certares bid, initiating exclusive talks with the group.[citation needed] In its first year of operation, the airline carried 9 million passengers.[citation needed]
On 19 January 2023, Lufthansa Group submitted a bid to the Italian Government to begin acquiring a minority share in the airline, to purchase the remaining shares over an extended period and have the airline join the largerLufthansa Group.[38] On 27 January 2023, the Italian government and Lufthansa signed a letter of intent over the sale of a minority stake, paving the way for exclusive negotiations with the German aviation group.[39] On 25 May 2023 Lufthansa Group reached an agreement on the acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA Airways.[40][41]
On 3 February,Lufthansa Group andSkyTeam announced that ITA Airways had left the airline alliance.[8] Following a transitional period, ITA will joinStar Alliance in first half of 2026.[9]
On 30 March, at the start of the summer schedule, ITA Airways moved its operations atFrankfurt Airport from Terminal 2 into Terminal 1; and from Terminal 1 into Terminal 2 atMunich Airport to be under one roof with otherLufthansa Group andStar Alliance Airlines.[9] Also in February, a photo emerged onTwitter showing an ITA Airbus A350 painted with the slogan "Inspired by Alitalia."[49]
On 2 April, it was reported that ITA Airways has officially received clearance from the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board (CEB) to initiate the integration process into the airline alliance. The expected date of joining will be in early 2026 as a full member.[10]
On 15 October 2021, the day flight operations began, ITA Airways' new brand was also presented. ITA's aircraft livery features a renewed design and new color scheme, with a fully pearlescentItalian blue fuselage and white engines, a white and red "ITA Airways" logo positioned between the first two exit doors, and several icons inspired by Italy's landmarks, along with theItalian tricolor, on theempennage. All aircraft are named after meritoriousItalian sportspeople.
The "Alitalia" brand, though not currently used, was purchased for potential future marketing operations and to prevent its use by competitors.[56] In October 2023, ITA Airways sued competitor airlineAeroItalia over its branding and name, deemed too similar to the one once used by Alitalia.[57] In September 2024, ITA Airways began using the tagline "inspired by Alitalia".
ITA is part-owned by the Italian government via theMinistry of Economy and Finance. As such, the airline's corporate offices are located in the ministry.[58][59]
Volare is the airline's loyalty program, through which customers accrue points based on miles flown.[62] The European Commission prohibited the airline from buying Alitalia'sMilleMiglia loyalty program.[63]
From 3 February 2025, the 2.7 million members of the frequent flyer programVolare can earn and redeem their points on all flights operated byLufthansa,Swiss,Austrian andBrussels Airlines.[9] At the same time,Miles & More members can earn and redeem miles on all ITA Airways flights.
As of November 2024, ITA Airways serves 73 destinations, inItaly,Europe,Africa,Asia,North andSouth America. ITA plans to serve 74 destinations and 89 routes by 2025.[64]
ITA Airways was a member of theSkyTeamalliance from 2021 until 2025.[65] On 3 February 2025, ITA Airways announced that it would join theLufthansa Group, and that it would leave SkyTeam for theStar Alliance.[9] The airline officially exited SkyTeam on 30 April 2025, and ITA Airways' official accession to the Star Alliance is planned for the first half of 2026.[8][9][10][66]
On 15 October 2021, ITA Airways took possession of 49 aircraft fromAlitalia in the wake of that airline's shutdown on 14 October 2021, including 18Airbus A319-100s, 25Airbus A320-200s, and 6Airbus A330-200s. These aircraft joining the fleet were in addition to the 2Airbus A320-200 and the 1Airbus A330-200 already under the ITA Airways AOC. The addition of these 49 aircraft brought ITA’s fleet total to 52 aircraft, the planned number for the start of operations.[citation needed]
^"Privacy ITA S.p.A." ITA Airways. Retrieved22 June 2022.[...]domiciled at the registered office in via XX Settembre, n. 97, in Rome (RM), 00187, C.F.[...]
^"Spokesperson and Press Office". Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. Retrieved6 April 2023.Via Venti Settembre, 97 - 00187 Roma - Italia
_(02).jpg)
_at_Milan_Linate.jpg)
_EI-HHI.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
Media related toITA Airways at Wikimedia Commons
