Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A. (),

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

ITA Airways, is the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations. Histo ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is owned by the

government of Italy The government of Italy is that of a democratic republic, established by the Italian constitution in 1948. It consists of Legislature, legislative, Executive (government), executive, and Judiciary, judicial subdivisions, as well as of a head of ...

, via the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and

Lufthansa Group Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks second in Europe by p ...

. The airline was founded in 2020 as a successor to the bankrupt

Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. ...

. The airline flies to over 70 scheduled domestic, European, and intercontinental destinations. Its main hub is

Rome Fiumicino Airport Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport () is an international airport in Fiumicino, Italy, serving Rome. It is the busiest airport in the country, the eighth-busiest airport in Europe and the world's 39th-busiest airport with over 49.2&nb ...

and a

focus city An airline hub or hub airport is an airport used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations. Hubs serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to help get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the ...

is Milan Linate Airport. In 2025, ITA Airways announced that the airline will be ending its membership in

SkyTeam SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, after Star Alliance and Oneworld. Its annual passenger count is 624 million customers (2024), the second ...

to join

Star Alliance Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. Star Alliance has 25 member airlines that operate a combined fleet of over 5,000 aircraft, servi ...

in 2026, as part of the airline's integration into the Lufthansa Group.

History

Background

Italy's flag carrier

had been in operation since 1946. It was owned by the

Italian government The government of Italy is that of a democratic republic, established by the Italian constitution in 1948. It consists of Legislature, legislative, Executive (government), executive, and Judiciary, judicial subdivisions, as well as of a head of ...

until 2009 when it became a private company after reorganizing and merging with the bankrupt Italian airline Air One. Alitalia reorganized again in 2015 after receiving an investment from

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and ...

, with

Air France-KLM An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmospher ...

already owning a minority stake. With multiple failed attempts to make the airline profitable, the airline was placed under extraordinary administration in 2017 just days after Etihad Airways ended its support of Alitalia. On 17 May 2017, after the government ruled out nationalizing the airline, it was officially put on the auction block. After multiple failed negotiations with

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

EasyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airlin ...

, Italian

railway company A rail transport company is a company active within the rail industry. It can be: * a manufacturing company, * a rail transport operations, railway undertaking providing services through operating rolling stock, * a railway infrastructure manager ...

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and

China Eastern Airlines China Eastern Airlines (branded as China Eastern) is a major airline in China, headquartered in Changning, Shanghai, Changning, Shanghai. It is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Southern Airlines. ...

, the Italian government took ownership of the airline in March 2020. The government takeover was due in part to the belief the airline would not be able to survive the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its own. On 10 October 2020, the Italian government signed a decree to allow the airline to reorganize as Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A.

2020

On 28 October 2020, it was reported that ITA was expected to buy several assets from Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., including the brand and the flight codes of Alitalia and Alitalia CityLiner, the

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

ticketing code (055), the MilleMiglia frequent-flyer program, and airport slots at London Heathrow (68 weekly slots in summer and 65 in winter). The transaction was expected to cost €220 million.

2021

However, on 8 January 2021, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

sent a letter to the Italian Permanent Representative to the European Union calling for Italy to launch an "open, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional tender" to shed Alitalia assets. The letter consisted of 62 requests for clarification, rejecting the idea that the old carrier could sell its assets to the new company with no open bidding. The letter stated that ITA should not retain the Alitalia brand since the brand is an emblematic indicator of continuity. The European Commission suggested that the combined aviation, ground handling, and maintenance businesses should be sold separately to a third party. It also suggested that slots must be sold, and that the MilleMiglia program in its entirety could not be transferred to the new corporate entity. On 26 August 2021, ITA officially opened ticket sales on its newly launched website. On 27 August 2021, ITA applied for an Exemption and a Foreign Air Carrier Permit with the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

. The document noted the airline's intention to start flying to New York-JFK,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in 2021,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Washington-Dulles Washington Dulles International Airport ( ) – commonly known by its former name of Dulles International Airport, by its airport code of IAD, or simply as Dulles Airport – is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located w ...

in 2022, and

Chicago-O'Hare Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business district. The airport is operated by the ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 2023. The same document stated that before the start of its flight operations, planned for 15 October 2021, ITA would acquire certain assets from Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., and that ITA would also participate in a public tender to acquire the "

" brand. On 30 September 2021, ITA announced that it would work with

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

as a "strategic partner", providing details of its fleet plans. The airline announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for the purchase of 10 Airbus A330neo, 7 Airbus A220 and 11 Airbus A320neo aircraft, for a total of 28, along with an agreement with Air Lease Corporation to lease an additional 31 new Airbus aircraft, including the

Airbus A350-900 The Airbus A350 is a flight length, long-range, wide-body twin-engine airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The initial A350 design proposed in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the Airbu ...

. On 22 October 2021, former Alitalia employees who had not been rehired protested against ITA. Women at the demonstration shouted slogans wearing only white nightgowns. Company CEO Alfredo Altavilla called the protest "a national shame". ITA officially joined the

alliance on 29 October 2021, but for the time being only for one year until new owners have been found and a long-term strategy has been made. Starting on 2 December 2021, ITA started carrying flights with the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

when making pastoral and

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

visits to a country starting with

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, replacing Alitalia for most outbound papal flights. The Pope's flight is often nicknamed "Shepherd One" by the press, while the actual callsign is "Volo Papale" (papal flight, in Italian) followed by a serial number.

2022

It was reported in January 2022 that ITA had successfully acquired the Alitalia brand in the fall of 2021 for €90 million, with plans to resume using the name in some fashion. On 24 January 2022, ITA announced that MSC Group and

had expressed an interest in becoming majority owners of the Italian airline, with the Italian Government keeping a minority stake. On 10 March 2022, fellow SkyTeam members

and

also expressed interest in investing in ITA, by teaming up with investment firm Certares. Indigo Partners also expressed interest, leaving a total of three interested parties. After the deadline ended on 23 May 2022, only MSC/Lufthansa and Air France-KLM/Certares bid for ITA. As of 31 August 2022, the Italian government has stated their preference for the Air France-KLM/Certares bid, initiating exclusive talks with the group. In its first year of operation, the airline carried 9 million passengers.

2023

On 19 January 2023, Lufthansa Group submitted a bid to the Italian Government to begin acquiring a minority share in the airline, to purchase the remaining shares over an extended period and have the airline join the larger

. On 27 January 2023, the Italian government and Lufthansa signed a letter of intent over the sale of a minority stake, paving the way for exclusive negotiations with the German aviation group. On 25 May 2023 Lufthansa Group reached an agreement on the acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA Airways.

2024

The acquisition by Lufthansa Group received approval from the

on 3 July 2024.

2025

On 17 January,

acquired 41% of ITA, making ITA Airways the fifth network airline of the

, alongside Lufthansa,

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

, Austrian and

Brussels Airlines Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Belgium, based and headquartered at Brussels Airport. It operates to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America and Africa and also offers charter services, maintenance and crew ...

. Between 2025 and 2029, there is the option for Lufthansa Group to acquire an additional 49% of ITA, and a further option to acquire the remaining 10% after 2029, making ITA a

wholly-owned subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidiary company. Unl ...

. On 3 February,

and

announced that ITA Airways had left the airline alliance. Following a transitional period, ITA will join

in first half of 2026. Lufthansa sign in Hannover Airport 2014

On 30 March, at the start of the summer schedule, ITA Airways moved its operations at

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...

from Terminal 2 into Terminal 1; and from Terminal 1 into Terminal 2 at Munich Airport to be under one roof with other

and

Airlines. Also in February, a photo emerged on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

showing an ITA Airbus A350 painted with the slogan "Inspired by Alitalia." On 2 April, it was reported that ITA Airways has officially received clearance from the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board (CEB) to initiate the integration process into the airline alliance. The expected date of joining will be in early 2026 as a full member.

Corporate affairs

Business trends

The key trends of ITA Airways are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):

Logo and livery

On 15 October 2021, the day flight operations began, ITA Airways' new brand was also presented. ITA's aircraft livery features a renewed design and new color scheme, with a fully pearlescent Italian blue fuselage and white engines, a white and red "ITA Airways" logo positioned between the first two exit doors, and several icons inspired by Italy's landmarks, along with the Italian tricolor, on the

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

. All aircraft are named after meritorious Italian sportspeople. The "Alitalia" brand, though not currently used, was purchased for potential future marketing operations and to prevent its use by competitors. In October 2023, ITA Airways sued competitor airline

AeroItalia Aeroitalia Società a responsabilità limitata, SRL is an Italy, Italian airline. It operates a fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation, Boeing 737s and ATR 72s from operating bases in Milan Bergamo Airport, Bergamo, Comiso Airport, Comiso and Rome ...

over its branding and name, deemed too similar to the one once used by Alitalia. In September 2024, ITA Airways began using the tagline "inspired by Alitalia".

Ownership and corporate office

ITA is part-owned by the Italian government via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. As such, the airline's corporate offices are located in the ministry. In January 2025,

completed the acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA Airways. The airline's

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

is Jörg Eberhart.

Frequent-flyer program

''Volare'' is the airline's loyalty program, through which customers accrue points based on miles flown. The European Commission prohibited the airline from buying Alitalia's ''MilleMiglia'' loyalty program. From 3 February 2025, the 2.7 million members of the frequent flyer program ''Volare'' can earn and redeem their points on all flights operated by

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...

, Austrian and

. At the same time, Miles & More members can earn and redeem miles on all ITA Airways flights.

Destinations

As of November 2024, ITA Airways serves 73 destinations, in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

America. ITA plans to serve 74 destinations and 89 routes by 2025. ITA Airways also announced the resumption of the route between Rome and

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; ; ) or Zante (, , ; ; from the Venetian language, Venetian form, traditionally Latinized as Zacynthus) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, with an are ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

using their

Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final ass ...

. The route was last operated by the airline in August 2021.

Alliances

ITA Airways was a member of the

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

from 2021-2025. On February 3, 2025, ITA Airways announced that it would join the

, and that it would leave SkyTeam for the

. The airline officially exited SkyTeam on April 30, 2025, and ITA Airways' official accession to the Star Alliance is planned for the first half of 2026.

Codeshare agreements

ITA Airways

codeshares A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

with the following airlines: *

Aerolíneas Argentinas Aerolíneas Argentinas, formally ''Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A.'', is the state-owned flag carrier of Argentina and the country's largest airline. The airline was created in 1949, from the merger of Aeroposta Argentina (AA), Aviación del Lito ...

* Air Caraibes * Aeroméxico *

airBaltic airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia. Its head office are located on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main airline hub, hub is Riga, and it o ...

* Air Corsica *

Air Dolomiti Air Dolomiti S.p.A. L.A.R.E (''Linee Aeree Regionali Europee'') is an Italian regional airline, wholly-owned by Lufthansa. It is a member of Lufthansa Regional and has its head office in Dossobuono, Villafranca di Verona. Its main bases are at Mu ...

Air Europa Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spain, Spanish airline after Iberia (airline), Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez M ...

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

Air Serbia Air Serbia (stylised as ''AirSERBIA''; ) is the flag carrier of Serbia. The company's headquarters is located in Belgrade, Serbia, and its main hub is Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. The airline was known as Jat Airways until it was renamed a ...

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. the airline has approximate ...

Austrian Airlines Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian or AUA, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of Lufthansa, the flag carrier of Germany. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where i ...

Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias de Colombia S.A.'', "Airways of Colombia", and stylized as avianca since October 2023) is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it ...

* Azul Brazilian Airlines *

Bulgaria Air Bulgaria Air () is the flag carrier airline of Bulgaria, with its headquarters at Vasil Levski Sofia Airport in Sofia. The company is owned by Chimimport AD and is a leader in terms of local market share. The airline operates short and medium ha ...

China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; zh, t=中華航空, poj=Tiong-hôa Hâng-khong, p=Zhōnghuá Hángkōng, first=t, c=, s=) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan). It is one of Taiwan's two major airlines, along with E ...

China Southern Airlines China Southern Airlines (branded as China Southern) is a major airline in China, headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Eastern Airlines. Established on 1 ...

Croatia Airlines Croatia Airlines Ltd. is the flag carrier of Croatia. Its headquarters are in the Zagreb neighborhood of Buzin and operates domestic and international services mainly to European destinations. Its main hub is Zagreb International Airport with ...

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...

Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines (), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by the country's government. EAL was founded on 21 December 1945 and commenced operations on 8 April 1946, expanding to intern ...

Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport near Jakarta. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam airline alliance and the second-largest airline of Ind ...

Hainan Airlines Hainan Airlines is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. It is the largest civilian-run enterprise, civilian-run and majority State ownership, state-owned air transport company, making it the fourth-largest airline in terms of flee ...

Icelandair Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...

Kenya Airways Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its Airline hu ...

* KLM * KM Malta Airlines *

Korean Air Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. (KAL; ) is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations, and international flights. It is owned by the Hanjin, Hanjin Group. The present-day Korean Air tra ...

Kuwait Airways Kuwait Airways (, ) is the flag carrier of Kuwait, with its head office on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport, Al Farwaniyah Governorate. It operates scheduled international services throughout the Middle East, to the Indian subcontine ...

LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. A founding member of IATA, it is one of the world's oldest airlines. With a fleet of 87 aircraft as of June 2025, LOT is Europe's 16th ...

Luxair Luxair, legally , is a flag carrier of Luxembourg with its headquarters in Munsbach, Luxembourg, and Airline hub, hub at Luxembourg Airport. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle ...

Middle East Airlines Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. (), more commonly known as Middle East Airlines (MEA) (), is the flag carrier of Lebanon, with its head office in Beirut, near Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. It operates scheduled internat ...

Pegasus Airlines Pegasus Airlines () (), sometimes stylized as Flypgs, is a Turkish low-cost airline headquartered in the Kurtköy area of Pendik, Turkey, with bases at several Turkish airports. History Foundation and early years On 1 December 1989, two b ...

Royal Air Maroc Royal Air Maroc (RAM, ; ; ) is the Morocco, Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country largest airline, ranking among the largest in Africa. RAM is wholly owned by the Cabinet of Morocco, Moroccan Government, and has its headquarters o ...

Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian Airlines (formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines) is the flag carrier of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled international services over four continents from its main base at ...

Saudia Saudia (), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia based in Jeddah. The airline's main hubs are the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the ...

Swiss International Air Lines Swiss International Air Lines AG, stylized as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, as well as a Star Alliance member. It operates scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, ...

TAP Air Portugal TAP Air Portugal is the flag carrier of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its airline hub, hub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and operates on average 2, ...

TAROM TAROM (; legally ''Compania Națională de Transporturi Aeriene Române TAROM S.A.'') is the flag carrier and oldest currently operating airline of Romania, based in Otopeni near Bucharest. Its headquarters and its main hub are at Henri Coand� ...

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...

Vietnam Airlines Vietnam Airlines () is the flag carrier of Vietnam. The airline was founded in 1956 and later established as a Government-owned corporation, state-owned enterprise in April 1989. Vietnam Airlines is headquartered in Long Biên district, Hanoi ...

XiamenAir Xiamen Airlines ( ) (branded as XiamenAir), is an airline based in Xiamen, Fujian, China. XiamenAir has its northern headquarters in Beijing and eight branches in Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Hunan, Beijing, Quanzhou, Chongqing and Shanghai, and t ...

Interline agreements

ITA Airways has interline agreements with the following airlines: * APG Airlines *

Corsair International Corsair International, legally ''Corsair S.A.'', previously Corsairfly and Corse Air International, is a French airline headquartered in Rungis and based at Orly Airport. It is a subsidiary of German investor Intro Aviation (53%) and TUI Group ( ...

* Hahn Air *

Iryo Iryo is the brand of ''Intermodalidad de Levante S.A.'' (ILSA), a private high-speed rail operator in Spain. The company is jointly owned by the Italian state-owned railway company Trenitalia (51%), the Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum (25%), ...

(railway) * Neos *

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...

(railway) *

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic A ...

Fleet

Current fleet

, ITA Airways operates an all-

fleet composed of the following aircraft:

Fleet development

Announced on 30 September 2021, ITA Airways signed an agreement with

with an order for 10

Airbus A330neo The Airbus A330neo ("neo" for " New Engine Option") is a wide-body airliner developed by Airbus from the original Airbus A330 (now A330''ceo'' – "Current Engine Option"). A new version with modern engines comparable with those developed fo ...

, 11

Airbus A320neo The Airbus A320neo family is an incremental development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. The A320neo family (''neo'' being Greek for "new", as well as an acronym for "new engine option") is based on the Airbus A3 ...

and 7

Airbus A220 The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (ACLP). It was originally developed by Bombardier Aviation and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries. The program was launche ...

. ITA Airways also announced an agreement with Air Lease Corporation and other aircraft leasing companies to take up to 56 aircraft, including the

Airbus A321neo The Airbus A321neo is a Single-aisle aircraft, single-aisle airliner created by Airbus. The A321neo (''neo'' being an acronym for "new engine option") is developed from the Airbus A321 and Airbus A320neo family. It is the longest stretched fusela ...

, and

Airbus A350 The Airbus A350 is a flight length, long-range, wide-body twin-engine airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The initial A350 design proposed in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the Airbu ...

. The company acquired the Airbus A321neo for the long-haul destinations in the Middle East (Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Cairo) and Central Africa (Dakar, Accra). After the closure of the route between

Milan Malpensa Airport Milan Malpensa Airport "Silvio Berlusconi" is an international airport in Ferno, in the Province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It is the largest airport in northern Italy, serving Lombardy, Piedmont, and Liguria, as well as the Swiss canton of T ...

and New York—JFK on 8 January 2024, to simplify operations, all intercontinental destinations are operated exclusively from

. On 15 October 2021, ITA Airways took possession of 49 aircraft from

in the wake of that airline's shutdown on 14 October 2021, including 18

Airbus A319-100 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final assem ...

s, 25

Airbus A320-200 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

s, and 6 Airbus A330-200s. These aircraft joining the fleet were in addition to the 2

and the 1 Airbus A330-200 already under the ITA Airways AOC. The addition of these 49 aircraft brought ITA’s fleet total to 52 aircraft, the planned number for the start of operations.

Accidents and incidents

* On 17 June 2022, ITA Airways Flight 611, an Airbus A330-200 (EI-EJL), struck

Flight 008, a

Boeing 777-200ER The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the most-built wide-body airliner. ...

(F-GSPQ), at

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The pilots of the Air France 777 informed

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

(ATC) and advised them not to let the ITA A330 take off. Flight 611 was still cleared for

takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a tr ...

, despite the ATC asking the pilot to return for inspection by

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

inspectors for damage. The pilot refused and requested inspection by the

Italian Civil Aviation Authority The Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione Civile (ENAC), , is the civil aviation authority of Italy. Its headquarters are located in Rome. Legislative Decree no.250/97 established the existence of ENAC on 25 July 1997. It is the equivalency of the United ...

instead and continued the flight to Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, where wing damage was discovered after landing. Both aircraft were repaired, and the accident investigation was completed in 2023.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{IATA members, europe Airlines established in 2020 Airlines of Italy Italian companies established in 2020 Lufthansa Group Government-owned airlines Italian brands Companies based in Rome Former SkyTeam members Italia Trasporto Aereo