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It’s official: Alitalia is shutting down. While the end of the airline has been clear for months now, the carrier has officially announced that it will stop flying from 14th October. All flights beyond this date are canceled, and passengers may request a refund or travel before the 14th. From the 15th of October, ITA will become the new Italian flag carrier, kicking off a new era for Italian aviation.

As the anticipation for ITA builds up, Alitalia has been planning its orderly closure. Yesterday, the Italian flag carrier announced that the end is near. Effective from today, 25th August, Alitalia won’t sell tickets for flights from 15th October, limiting advance sales. This effectively means that the airline will cease to fly after this date

Passengers that are booked to fly on the 15th or later have two choices. They may either rebook their flights to fly before 14th October or can request a full refund. Since ITA is a wholly different airline with its own AOC, there won’t be any rebookings available.

Alitalia has been in its death throes for many years and its demise is hardly a surprise. The Italian government tried to keep it alive without success. I believe Delta and Easyjet had expressed interest in taking it over a few years ago. But the talks came to nothing. 

I only once did a long haul on Alitalia and a few inter-Europe flights. For my money it served the best coffee in the air, but not much else! Reminds me a little of the Belgian airline SABENA which went bankrupt in 2001. Its acronym amongst frequent travellers was Such A Bloody Experience, Never Again!

Slightly off track, having mentioned SABENA's acronym, the only better one I know is that for LUFTHANSA - Let Us Fuck The Hostesses And Not Say Anything!

and then there's Qantas: Queens and Nymphomaniacs Travelling As Stewards

and for seasoned Caribbean travellers, LIAT (Leeward Islands Air Transport) better known as Luggage in Another Terminal

Alitalia acronym is :  Always Late In Take-offs Always Late In Arrivals

 

That's a bit like the Philippines Airline PAL. It was always known as Plane Always Late. A couple of decades it reversed the trend and tried to make the public believe it was Prompt At Last! It didn't work!

From CNN Travel

After Italy's national airline Alitalia went bankrupt, a new logo is visible in the country's skies -- meet ITA Airways.

The new carrier and its sleek blue planes debuted at a press event in Rome.

 

"We have been born as a new Italian brand, and we have chosen to work only with Italian companies," ITA's president said at the unveiling.

 

However, not everything is hewing to tradition. The airline is trying out an interesting new pay structure where all employees will have a part of their salary linked not only to company profits, but also to customer satisfaction.