What Happened to Alitalia?

In October of 2021, the Italian airline Alitalia quietly ceased to exist, leaving many travelers wondering what happened and what would replace it. But you might have seen Alitalia show up in your flight search results in a2b, leaving you more confused than ever. Allow us to explain - here’s what you need to know.

Who is Alitalia’s replacement, ITA Airways?

After suffering massive financial troubles, a new airline – state-backed ITA (Italia Transporto Aero) – took over Alitalia operations on October 15, 2021. The new ITA promises to be a more streamlined and lean organization, paring back from 110 to 52 airplanes and from 10,500 to 2,800 staff. And as part of the new deal, ITA brokered the purchase of the Alitalia brand. 

Is Alitalia gone for good?

In the past week, ITA announced plans to keep Alitalia as a brand going forward and they’ll be re-launching flights under the Alitalia name in March 2022. While a spokesman explains that there are no plans to make Alitalia the low-cost arm of the carrier, there’s not a lot of information being shared about what exactly the long-term plans are for the brand, or how it will be different from ITA.

Is ITA an improvement over Alitalia?

It’s hard to say. By and large the launch of ITA has gone smoothly. Some travelers have even found the inflight experience superior to Alitalia. The biggest improvement seems to be the customer experience. ITA has promised to pay employees by company performance and customer satisfaction ratings, and so far it seems to be working well. Travelers report that the flight crews are warm and customer service is excellent.

Where does ITA fly?

As of this month, ITA services about 35 destinations. Service from the U.S. right now is limited to flights from JFK in New York with more U.S. cities added to the airline’s network starting in March 2022. Eventually, destinations will include Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami, and others. Initial gateways to Italy are Rome and Milan. Once you’ve arrived, ITA offers domestic service - you can fly to to Bari, Bologna, Brindisi, Catania, Florence, Lamezia, Naples, Palermo, Reggio C., Trieste, Venice, Verona, Turin and a few other cities.

So the next time you see ITA pop up in your flight search results, don’t be alarmed! They’re there for a reason. You can book them, you can fly them, and if you have any problem or questions, you can reach out to us! Our team is always ready to help.