Is this not the end of Alitalia? The Italian legend returns, but symbolically
The Italian carrier ITA Airways, the heir to Alitalia, decided to bring its legendary predecessor back to life. For now, however, the return is symbolic and is intended to strengthen the “brand identity”.
The closure of Alitalia in 2021 was the end of a historic era in the Italian aviation market. The national carrier existed for 75 years, and the Italian state treasury was its main shareholder. The threat of bankruptcy of the airline has been hanging in the air for a long time. In 2008, Italian travel agencies advised customers not to book Alitalia planes due to the risk of their insolvency.
Is this not the end of Alitalia? The heir restores the logo
In 2021, the European Commission agreed to write off some of the liabilities of the indebted line. It was then that ITA (Italia Transporto Aero) was established, the successor of Alitalia, which took over its facilities. Many employees were employed in the new entity. ITA also retained the rights to the Italia brand.
As reported by flightglobal.com, Alitalia is to be brought back to life. For now, however, it is only about the symbolic dimension. ITA CEO Antonio Turicchi announced that by the end of 2024, the ITA Airways logo will be complemented by the Alitalia logo “at selected strategic customer touch points.” This can be seen in this graphic, where the logo that has been in use since 2005 is below
“We are proud to present a project to strengthen the Alitalia brand, which will complement our visual identity of “ITA Airways” to reinforce the values in air transport that are recognized around the world,” Turicchi said.
Improved financial results, more passengers
The plan was revealed after the carrier reported improving its operating results in the first half of this year. ITA’s revenues increased by a third to €1.4 billion, driven by a quarter increase in passenger numbers.
This is not the first time that ITA bosses have made longing references to Alitalia. Former ITA president Fabio Lazzerini told FlightGlobal that the new Italian airline has “some very interesting and creative ideas” for the Alitalia name. He did not reveal what they would involve.
Nowadays, however, the Italian brand is no longer fully Italian. In July this year, the European Commission agreed to take over 41 percent. shares in ITA by the global airline group Lufthansa. The transaction is expected to be closed by the end of the year.
