The government's plan is to readjust the company to the new reality generated after the pandemic
Alitalia should be “recreated” in the coming weeks, after the peak of the pandemic. Covid-19 has accentuated the serious crisis faced by the company, which since 2017 has been managed by managers appointed by the Italian State, and now must be completely nationalized.
And the changes have already begun. Those who have the opportunity to set foot in Rome Fiumicino airport can observe: the livery of the Airbus A330 I-EJGB is almost finished. For now, the green stripe remains on the tail. But the logo is no longer there.
This is one of two A330s that Alitalia leased from Etihad Airways at a cost of $500 a month, according to documents held by the newspaper Courier.
The aircraft will be flown back to Abu Dhabi soon: the company – in extraordinary administration for three years – has decided not to renew lease contracts expiring between May and June.
This is one of the first signs of the new phase of nationalized Alitalia, which should begin in a few weeks.
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The plan is to readjust so as not to go bankrupt
The company had an 87,5% reduction in revenue in the first months of 2020, meaning the Italian government had to regain full control of the company as a way to prevent possible bankruptcy.
The government's plan is to readjust Alitalia to the new reality generated after the crisis imposed by the virus. “Thanks to the intervention of the State, Alitalia will be able to compete effectively as soon as the sector recovers after the pandemic”, added the minister of industry, Stefano Patuanelli.
For a few months, it will be a smaller company, more focused on domestic and European flights, paying special attention to maritime tourist destinations two or three hours from Rome or Milan – a segment dominated in recent years by low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and Jetcost, for example – and a reduction in intercontinental routes, optimizing the most profitable ones, which are those in South and North America.
The collapse in sales
The scenario for now does not offer much hope. On the Italian front, ticket sales fell by 99% at the end of April for all types of flights (national, European and intercontinental), according to Arc, an organization linked to the Italian National Civil Aviation Agency.
And for connections scheduled from June 1 to September 30, only 2% of available seats departing from Italy and less than 0,5% of seats on flights from abroad to Italy were sold. This also explains why United Airlines decided not to operate flights over Rome and Milan until October 23.
The ancient fleet
The 92 aircraft available for the new Alitalia will be divided as follows: 60 Airbus A319 and A320 and 20 long-haul aircraft between the A330 and Boeing 777-200ER models will remain.
12 Embraer units, including the E75 and E90 models, will go to Alitalia CityLiner, the regional airline.
This means that another eight aircraft produced by Embraer, the seven A321s and six aircraft for intercontinental travel, including those from Etihad, will be returned.
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