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//NOTE THIS PROJECT IS ON HOLD UNTIL THE DETAILS ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEW RENATIONALISED ALITALIA BECOME CLEAR//

Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana (Alitalia – Italian Air Company), operating as Alitalia, is the flag carrier of Italy. The company has its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. Its main hub is Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome, with a secondary hub at Linate Airport. The name is an Italian portmanteau of the words ali ('wings') and Italia ('Italy').

The airline was founded in 1946, and was a major European airline throughout the latter half of the 20th century. In the 21st century, it repeatedly ran into financial difficulties, and required financial aid from the Italian government in order to continue its operations. It was privatised in 2009, but continued losing money, and was renationalised by the Italian government in 2020 in order to help it withstand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2018, it was the twelfth-largest airline in Europe.

History
Alitalia – Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. was established on 16 September 1946 as Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali (Italian International Airlines). It was formed as a result of an Anglo-Italian agreement and was funded by the Italian government and British European Airways (BEA) in a 60/40 share arrangement with a capital of 900 million lire (£1,000,000). Its popular name, Alitalia, blended the Italian words ali (wings) and Italia (Italy). It started operations on 5 May 1947, in which year it carried over 10,000 passengers. The inaugural flight was with a Fiat G.12 Alcione, piloted by Virginio Reinero from Turin to Catania and Rome.



The first intercontinental flight left a year later, flying between Milan and cities in South America. The Savoia-Marchetti SM.95 four engined airliner was used on European routes up to 1949. On 31 October 1957, Alitalia merged with Linee Aeree Italiane and took on the name of Alitalia Linee Aeree Italiane. Alitalia was owned by the Italian Ministry of the Treasury (49%), other shareholders, including employees (49%) and Air France-KLM (2%).

By 1960 Alitalia was operating jet airliners on some European routes (the Sud Caravelle) and the Douglas DC-8 on several longer distance routes. The Vickers Viscount propeller-turbine four-engined airliner was flown by Alitalia on its European network throughout the 1960s.

In 1978 Alitalia had its head office in the Palazzo Alitalia in Rome.



By the 1990s Alitalia was carrying 25 million passengers annually. In 1997 it set up a regional subsidiary Alitalia Express and in 2001 became a member of SkyTeam. In November 2003 Alitalia announced that it would cut 2,700 jobs over the next three years to prepare the airline for a merger with Air France and KLM.

In 2006, Alitalia acquired the bankrupt Volare Group (Volareweb, Air Europe) in a sale that was controversial due to Alitalia's recent reception of state aid.

Malpensa hub
In 1995 Alitalia signed a partnership with KLM which aimed at a merger. The aim of the partnership was to develop Malpensa as a hub, along with Amsterdam (which lacked enough landing slots to expand further) and Rome Fiumicino. The problem was that in Milan there are two airports: Milan Linate (close to city centre but small) and Milan Malpensa (far from city but large and expandable). The Italian Government planned to move all flights to Milan Malpensa, apart from Milan-Rome Fiumicino.

EU airlines went to the European Courts, as they claimed that the development of Milan Malpensa and the closure of Milan Linate would provide an anti-competitive situation in favour of Alitalia. They claimed that Alitalia could go on feeding its Fiumicino hub from Linate but they could not. Furthermore, they claimed that Malpensa was too far (40 km) and lacked the infrastructure to/from the city (the rail link would open a year after the opening of the hub). After many court disputes the EU decided to leave 33% of the flights at Linate until the rail link opened.

KLM broke off the alliance with Alitalia; and Cempella (head of Alitalia) was replaced by Mengozzi, who had the role of getting Alitalia back on track. In 2000 he signed a 2% share exchange with Air France and in 2001 joined the SkyTeam alliance.

In September 2007, Alitalia announced that it would nearly halve its hub at Malpensa and instead focus on Rome-Fiumicino and move all intercontinental flights there. Until this announcement, Malpensa had been Alitalia's primary hub for intercontinental flights. The transition away from Malpensa and towards Rome-Fiumicino was completed by the end of March 2008. Minor intercontentinental destinations, which previously received flights only from Malpensa, henceforth received only flights from Rome-Fiumicino, or were discontinued.

Privatisation
The European Court of Justice in July 2008 rejected an appeal by Alitalia against the European Commission in a long-running inquiry into Italian state aid. The airline challenged conditions set by the commission in 2001 for the use of state aid in restructuring the company.

In 2008, a group of investors formed the "Compagnia Aerea Italiana" (CAI) consortium to buy Alitalia, which had become bankrupt, and to merge it with Air One, another bankrupt Italian airline.

On 30 October 2008, CAI offered €1 billion to acquire parts of the bankrupt airline, amidst pilots' and flight crew members' opposition to labour agreements. On 19 November 2008, CAI's offer was accepted by the bankruptcy administrator of Alitalia with the permission of the Italian government, at the time the majority shareholder of the bankrupt airline. Alitalia's profitable assets were transferred to CAI on 12 December 2008 after CAI paid €1.05 billion, consisting of €427 million in cash and the assumption of responsibility for €625 million in Alitalia debt.

A USA diplomatic cable disclosed in 2011 summarised the operation as follows: "Under the guise of a rather quaint (and distinctly un-EU) desire to maintain the Italian-ness of the company, a group of wealthy Berlusconi cronies was enticed into taking over the healthy portions of Alitalia, leaving its debts to the Italian taxpayers. The rules of bankruptcy were changed in the middle of the game to meet the government's needs. Berlusconi pulled this one off, but his involvement probably cost the Italian taxpayers a lot of money."

Renationalisation
In April 2020, the Italian government announces it will take over Alitalia in May since it could not survive the COVID-19 crisis on its own. The fleet will be reduced from 113 aircraft to "more than 90". New international alliances will be discussed once codesharing with Delta will expire on 24 May.

Advertising
A variety of different slogans have been used by Alitalia. The following are examples of slogans used by Alitalia in the 2010s:
 * "Alitalia vola con te" (Alitalia flies with you)
 * "Fatti per volare alto" (Made to fly high)
 * "Alitalia, al lavoro per te" (Alitalia, working for you)
 * "Muoviamo chi muove l'Italia" (We move those who move Italy)
 * "Scegli come volare" (Choose how to fly)
 * "The pleasure of flying Made in Italy"

In 2014, the company adopted a new slogan


 * "Where the journey meets the destination." (International advertisement)

Alitalia Cargo


Established in 1947, Alitalia Cargo became a member of SkyTeam Cargo in 2001. Destinations concentrated on strategic markets in China, Korea, Japan and the USA.

Alitalia Cargo had a fleet of 5 MD-11 freighter aircraft operating from Malpensa International Airport. Due to financial turmoil Alitalia cargo division was sold off to new owners in 2009.

Alitalia Cargo ceased operations on 12 January 2009.

Alitalia Cargo operated three special Boeing 747 aircraft that were customized to hold 56 Cadillac Allantés each. Chassis were shipped from Detroit to Italy. The completed bodies were shipped another 3,300 miles (5,300 km) from Italy in specially equipped Boeing 747s, 56 at a time, back to Cadillac's Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant.

Destinations
Alitalia serves 97 destinations (as of October 2019). Alitalia's hub is at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport. Four other Italian airports are focus cities.

Fleet development
Between 2009 and 2011, Alitalia renewed its fleet with 34 new aircraft, while 26 older planes were retired. The renewal process ended in early 2013. These new planes are not owned by Alitalia itself but are leased mostly from Aircraft Purchase Fleet, an Irish leasing company created by former Air One owner Carlo Toto primarily to purchase the new Alitalia fleet. Following the Air One merger, the entire fleet that was not already leased from other lessors, plus the former Air One fleet that was owned by Air One outright, came under the ownership of APF, a subsidiary of Toto's Italian conglomerate Toto Holding. The entire fleet, except the two new A330s, is now on the Irish registry instead of the Italian registry.

Historical fleet

 * Alitalia during the 1960s started leading European airlines into the Jet Age and it became the first airline in Europe to adopt an all jet aircraft fleet in 1969.
 * The Boeing 767-300ER was introduced to the Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane fleet in 1994, and retired after 17 years of service in 2012. The last 767 flight was AZ845 from Accra via Lagos to Rome on 25 October 2012.
 * The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 was introduced to the Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane fleet in 1983, and then retired in 2012 after 29 years of service. The last flight with this aircraft type operated on 27 October 2012 using the plane with registration I-DATI on flight AZ1740 (Catania-Milan-Linate). The same aircraft on 17 December 2012 operated a memorial flight from Rome-Fiumicino Airport to Trieste Airport with journalists and ex-Alitalia's CEO Andrea Ragnetti on board. During landing, I-DATI was supported by Frecce Tricolori; they did a show for the occasion.