Avio Linee Italiane (ALI) was an Italian independent airline owned by the

Fiat Group Stellantis Italy, formerly known as Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. from 2007 to 2014 and FCA Italy S.p.A. from 2014 to 2021, is the Italian subsidiary of the multinational automaker Stellantis, dedicated to the production and selling of passe ...

, which operated between 1926 and 1952. It was ultimately acquired by Linee Aeree Italiane (LAI). ALI was the country's only pre-World War II airline not to be nationalized by the Italian Government.

History

Some sources indicate that ALI began operations in 1926. ALI began passenger service between

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

in May 1928 and extended service to Berlin in 1931. As of 1931, ALI had a fleet of seven aircraft Fokker F.VII. During the 1930s, ALI expanded service to other Italian cities, and beginning in 1938, it added at least one international route (Venice-Milan-Turin-Paris-London). As of 1939, ALI had a fleet of 16 aircraft, including one

DC-2 The Douglas DC-2 is a 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3, which bec ...

(I-EROS), nine Fiat G.18/G.18V, and six Savoia-Marchetti aircraft (possibly the S.73s). In 1940, with the Italian entry into World War II, ALI was incorporated into the

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Regio Esercito, Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the mon ...

(Royal Italian Air Force). At least one S.73 and four G.18 were lost in operational accidents during the war. ALI was reconstituted in 1947, using the Fiat G.12. The airline reportedly ordered six G.212 in 1947, and, at some point, acquired at least one

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...

. In 1949, ALI merged with two small post-war Italian independent airlines: Airone (also a Fiat G.12 operator) and Transadriatica, to form ALI - Flotte Riunite, with a combined fleet of seven G.12/G.212s and a dozen C-47s. The combined airline had an extensive route structure, encompassing

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Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

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, Frankfurt,

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and Brussels. ALI-Flotte Riunite was liquidated in 1952 and subsequently was acquired by LAI..

Notable accidents

The Aviation Safety Network reports four notable peacetime accidents: On 4 May 1949, an ALI G.212CP, registration I-ELCE, on a charter flight carrying the Turin soccer team home from Lisbon, struck a church on approach to the Turin airport, killing four crew members and all 27 passengers. On 6 December 1948, an ALI

, registration I-ETNA, crashed on takeoff from Milan-Linate airport, killing six crew members and one passenger. On 1 July 1948, an ALI G.212PW, registration I-ELSA, crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Keerbergen Airfield, Belgium, killing four crew members and four passengers. On 16 March 1940, an ALI S.73, registration I-SUTO, en route from Tripoli to Rome via Catania, crashed on the slopes of Mount Stromboli, killing five people.

References

Sources

* {{Airlines of Italy Defunct airlines of Italy Italian companies established in 1926 Airlines established in 1926 Airlines disestablished in 1952 1952 disestablishments in Italy

History

Notable accidents

See also

References

Sources