ITA won Alitalia's iconic brand for 90 million euros, nearly one third of what Alitalia was hoping for, the carrier said late on Friday.Īs has often been the case during its lifetime, Alitalia's last rites were surrounded by political dispute, with the far-right opposition party Brothers of Italy blaming Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government for its demise.
The company has ended only one year in the black this century and the government has run to its rescue many times, spending more than 8 billion euros ($9.27 billion) just in the last three years. The airline founded in 1946 passed through a dizzying succession of restructurings and changes of ownership. The traditional choice of popes, prima donnas and Italy's political elite, Alitalia has been run by state-appointed administrators since 2017 to avoid being liquidated. MILAN, Oct 15 (Reuters) - New, state-owned carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) took over from Alitalia on Friday, permanently grounding the 75-year old one-time symbol of Italian style and glamour after years of financial losses and failed rescue attempts.Īn early morning flight from Milan landed in the southern city of Bari just before 0600 GMT to mark the debut of the new, downsized carrier that flies with the same green-white-red livery of its predecessor.
