ITA Airways, record ticket sales. Limosani: "A320neo flying by end of February, A330neo in June."
ITA Airways these days is at BIT, the Italian tourism exchange. We at The Flight Club have made [...]
ITA Airways
SkyTeam
ITA Airways these days is at BIT, the Italian tourism exchange. We at The Flight Club dropped by in Milan and stopped to chat at the company's booth at its first appearance at the usual Milan event. The booth, in Hall 4 of the fair, features the claim "An Ever-Blueer Sky" and inside there are several corners dedicated to the world of ITA Airways.
In this article:
"We are doing well, the season is off to a good start," began Emiliana Limosani, CCO of the Italian company. "Since the third week of January, we have had two record-breaking weeks in terms of ticket sales. These were two 'best performance weeks' in our company's young history. There is a great desire to travel again."
With the start of the summer season will come new long-haul routes:
- The flight Rome Fiumicino-Washington-Dulles International Airport Will operate from June 2
- The flight Rome Fiumicino-San Francisco International Airport Will operate from July 1
Airbus A330/900neo aircraft will enter service by June., that is. The planes that will replace the old A330/200s that Alitalia inherited: these planes will be the first to see the final installation of business class cabins and the new premium economy. For this very reason, two seats that will be installed in the new business class are on display in the booth and are likely to be installed also aboard the A350 fleet.
"The 50% of bookings these weeks are for flights in the summer season - continues Limosani - and this for us is a sign that we are moving back toward bookings that are not last minute, as was the case last year: a phenomenon that has challenged us as well as the rest of the industry."
Selling tickets that are not last minute also allows the company to cash in fresh money and increase cash on hand, as well as allowing it to better plan operations while also making adjustments as needed.
"The phase in of the new machines will be most important for us, new A330/900neo aircraft will arrive, which are critical for us to increase our long-haul performance. By the end of February, the new A320neo will debut, and also by the summer, the A321neo will arrive. By the end of the year we will have a rejuvenated, more modern and sustainable fleet And of course where it will be more comfortable to travel."
"Premium clientele, whether flying for business or vacation, is one of our target audiences. On a positive note, events, trade shows and MICE appointments are coming back. The desire to meet in person is back, and that is very important to us. We also have a team dedicated to this segment to better meet the needs of companies."
We have not talked about Lufthansa and future developments partly because "off the records" there are no official developments. "China is not on our industrial agenda and at the moment there is no news in that aspect," Limosani replies when asked if ITA was considering activating a flight to China now that the borders have reopened and other airlines are returning to fly to Beijing and other destinations.
Also Volare is waiting to see what developments there will be with Miles&More, but there's no stopping deals and news, and it's getting ready to cross the million-member mark.
