The Aero Espresso Italiana, called also AEI and ''Aeroespresso del Levante'', was the first airline of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. It was created as a private company for the route

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

; later a second route to Rodhes was added

History

The airline company, founded in Rome in December 1923, was operating with flights only from 1926. It was based in Rome and worked, as was customary in the period, with services of

passenger transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

and international

air mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

in the 1920s and early 1930s. In the early 1930s Aero Espresso Italiana had two flights toward eastern Europe: * Brindisi – Athens – Istanbul/Costantinopole * Brindisi – Athens – Rodi The AEI used mainly the

flying boats A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull (watercraft), hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for b ...

Savoia 55, but also the Macchi 24bis and

Dornier Dornier may refer to: * Claudius Dornier (1884–1969), German aircraft designer and builder ** Dornier Flugzeugwerke, German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1914 by Claudius Dornier * Dornier Consulting, international consulting and project manag ...

.Flying magazine; p.15
/ref> The AEI remained active until its absorption, in 1934, by the national airline

Ala Littoria Ala Littoria S.A. was the Italian national airline that operated during the fascist regime in the 1930s and 1940s. History ''Ala Littoria'' was formed by a merger of Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM), Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (S ...

(that was formed by a merger of

Società Aerea Mediterranea Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM) was an Italian cargo and passenger airline based in Rome, Italy, which operated between 1928 and 1939 as subsidiary of Ala Littoria and between 1959 and 1981 as subsidiary of Alitalia. It was founded on 26 Marc ...

(SAM),

Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (abbreviated SANA) was an Italian airline established 1925 in Genoa, concentrating on flying boat routes in the western Mediterranean area. History The initial route, Genoa, Rome, Naples, Palermo was started o ...

(SANA),

Società Italiana Servizi Aerei ''Società'' (Italian language, Italian: ''Society'') was an Italian communist cultural magazine published in Italy between 1945 and 1961. History and profile ''Società'' was founded as a quarterly magazine in Florence in 1945. The founders we ...

(SISA) and Aero Espresso Italiana).

References

Bibliography

* ''Flying Magazine''. May 1929. 112 pages; Vol. 4, No. 5 ISSN 0015-4806 * Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. London: Studio Editions.

History

References

Bibliography

See also