AIRLINE REVIEW
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2 Instead of the striking blue livery ITA ’ s aircraft usually wear , this Airbus A220 wears a special ‘ Born to be Sustainable ’ one . The airline claims that the A220 “ is the most efficient smallscale single-corridor aircraft in its category . It ’ s lighter , quieter and will benefit the Company 25 % reduction in consumption and emissions of CO2 per passenger compared to the previous generation .” // ITA AIRWAYS
3 Francesco Presicce , Chief Technology Officer ITA Airways . // ITA AIRWAYS
4 ITA Airways aims to boast 80 % new generation fuel efficient aircraft by 2026 , including the Airbus A320neo . // FABRIZIO SPICUGLIA
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fleet , currently made up of 71 aircraft , will expand to 94 planes . Overall income is expected to rise from € 2.5 billion in 2023 to € 4.5 billion in 2027 . At the same time , the workforce will swell to more than 5,500 employees from around 4,000 today .
The entry of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group will change the geopolitics of European commercial aviation : the LH Group now encompasses a number of major airlines
( Lufthansa itself , Swiss , Austrian , ITA Airways , Brussels Airlines , and Eurowings ) extending from the English Channel to Sicily and dominating central Europe . The International Air Group ( formed by British Airways , Iberia , Aer Lingus , and Vueling ) prevails in Western Europe , and the Air France-KLM Group stands in the middle of those two giants . In terms of Frequent Flyer Programs , the shift of ITA Airways ’ Volare from Skyteam to Star Alliance will cement the latter as by far the largest and most powerful airline alliance on the continent .
On the day following the agreement with Lufthansa , ITA Airways once again dominated commercial aviation news as it took delivery of its first Airbus A330-900 . The aircraft , dedicated to Seoul ‘ 88 Olympic marathon gold medalist Gelindo Bordin following a tradition that sees all of ITA Airways ’ aircraft named for legends of Italian sports , is the first of 17 ( 10 bought directly from Airbus and seven leased from Aircraft Lease Corporation ) the airline will receive over the next four years , with as many as nine expected by the end of 2023 . The A330neos will replace the older A330-200s ITA inherited from Alitalia , while also growing the fleet and , consequently , the network .
40 AIRWAYS MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2023 www . airwaysmag . com