Newly Named Air Italy Is Ready to Take On Troubled Alitalia
Photo Credit: Air Italy recently took delivery of its first Boeing 737 Max. The airline, backed by Qatar Airways, has global ambitions. Air Italy
Skift Take
We're not sure Europe needs another airline with global ambitions. But more capacity almost always means cheaper fares, so passengers should enjoy watching these competitive dynamics play out. Perhaps Air Italy will become Italy's national carrier if Alitalia stops flying. Or maybe they'll both go bust.
What's in a name?
This is a question investors in a small and otherwise unremarkable Italian airline seek to learn. The investors, including Qatar Airways, which in 2017 acquired 49 percent of the company, have taken Meridiana, a regional and leisure-oriented airline founded in the mid-1960s, and changed its name to Air Italy. The hope is that it can challenge Alitalia, the actual national carrier, for dominance.
"The role of being the reference carrier and the national icon is something we're aiming for," Andrea Andomo, Air Italy's chief commercial officer, said in an interview.
Given Alitalia's storied history, it would seem a folly for Air Italy to go for the title of Italy's go-to global airline, especially since as recently as a year ago, it was a mostly unknown carrier flying a slew of short-haul routes. But A
