From Bolzano to Rome to London: the other Italian way of SkyAlps
Italian airlines can now literally be counted on the fingers of one hand: in addition to Ita Airways and Air Dolomiti [...]
Italian airlines can now literally be counted on the fingers of one hand: in addition to Ita Airways and Air Dolomiti (with the former preparing to gravitate into the orbit of Lufthansa and the latter being 100% controlled by the Germans) are also currently operating Neos, an Alpitour Group company, Aeroitalia and SkyAlps.
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The last two, moreover, came into existence right during the pandemic from Covid; almost simultaneously with the closure of two other tricolor carriers (Blue Panorama and Ego Airways).
Three years of growth
Starting quietly, the South Tyrolean SkyAlps - which is headquartered and based in Bolzano, Italy-is beginning to carve out its own space in an Italian environment dominated by low-cost and foreign carriers.
Founded only in 2021, SkyAlps today connects 12 Italian and European destinations and has a fleet of 6 DASH-8 Q-400 - twin-turboprop short- to medium-range aircraft.
The initial plan was to connect the neglected but promising Bolzano airport with a handful of Italian and European destinations related to high-end tourist traffic and business travel. With the passage of time, however, the carrier led by chairman Josef Gostner has begun to expand by expanding the network to medium/small airports in northern Italy and beyond.
From London to Corfu: the new routes
SkyAlps, in fact, has just unveiled its 2024 summer schedule with a number of significant new features. From June to September, in fact, the carrier will fly from Bolzano to Corfu, Greece, every Friday.
This is in addition to the entire network already operated last year-but which in 2024 will leave early in mid-May-to Olbia and Cagliari Sardinia, Catania Sicily, Lamezia Terme in Calabria and Toast in Apulia. Finally, on the European network, there will also be flights to Ibiza and Brač (Croatia).
The bulk of the operation, however, sees connections between South Tyrol and Germany with flights to Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Kassel.
For the winter that has just started, however, SkyAlps has launched the flight for London Stansted starting next Dec. 13. The flight takes off from Bolzano and the UK twice a week: on Wednesdays and Sundays. This is complemented by a network of connections to Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf (in Germany), Copenhagen and Billund (in Denmark) and Antwerp (in Belgium).
How the SkyAlps model works
But the latest evolution of SkyAlps, was the launch of regional connections with the airport of Rome Fiumicino. Even in 2024, in fact, the airline confirms routes from Leonardo da Vinci to Verona, Cuneo and Crotone: destinations launched over the past few months that are performing well.
So much so that in the very last crisis between Aeroitalia and Ancona Airport. there are those who have even speculated about a run-in by SkyAlps on territorial continuity routes from the Marche capital.
"This year we will carry more than 100 thousand passengers, 50% more than in 2022," Gostner recently told the newspaper TTG Italy - And by the middle of 2024 we will go from 6 to 14 planes And we will triple the number of flights. We are convinced that we will succeed, because we have entered a market niche that no one else was manning."
The SkyAlps model, however, is based on some clear and identifying pillars. First of all: only one aircraft model in the fleet: the Dash-8 Q-400 that can carry a maximum of 78 passengers. A more expensive model than Atrs but more robust and more economical on fuel consumption, suitable for airports with shorter runways and more unstable weather conditions (see the valleys of South Tyrol and the Alps).
Not only that, SkyAlps also benefited from the Covid Because it started operations right during the early stages of post-pandemic restart in a market environment totally to be rebuilt. It is now enjoying a very high demand for travel involving even small and medium airports and a target customer base that is willing to spend either way.
But the other decisive choice made by SkyAlps management was made before the very birth of the carrier. the company that controls SkyAlps, in fact, is the same one that operates Bolzano airport.
"The idea was to go and fill that hole left by the previous experiences of Air Alps and Darwin. We also bought the airport in 2019 so management is integrated, airport and airline fly together," Gostner had said a couple of years ago when commenting on the province's exit from the management company and the totally private contribution of shares in the Bolzano airport.
The future
As a result, SkyAlps' development plan benefited from the sole ownership on its base, the single-flot model, and also Of the entire bilingual staff which made it possible to "place" numerous charter flights even beyond the Alps and to create an alternative route to flights over Verona and Munich.
Now, however, the challenge is all regional. Gostner makes no secret that the flight to London Stansted is just a first step in making the leap to the most renowned Gatwick. While on Italy, the launch in a few months of flights from Verona, Crotone and Cuneo to Rome is marking a new step for domestic transportation with the aim of revitalizing especially the Piedmont and Calabria airports.
And Gostner already speculates on the possibility of making feederage to Rome with other destinations, perhaps for some legacy airline (Ita Airways?, ed.). Finally, SkyAlps' role on Rome could be relevant in the coming years; especially if the company chooses larger aircraft and new routes to open.
