page_title: Alitalia
section_title: Establishment of Alitalia
hierarchical_section_title: Alitalia / History / Establishment of Alitalia
caption_attribution_description: English: Douglas DC-8-43 I-DIWA of Alitalia at London Heathrow Airport
context_page_description: Alitalia - Trasporto Aereo Italiano S.p.A, operating as Alitalia, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company has its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. Its main hub is Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome, with a secondary hub at Linate Airport, Milan. Other focus airports are Catania–Fontanarossa Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport, Palermo Airport and Naples Airport. The airline is fully owned by the Government of Italy since 17 March 2020. The airline operates a fleet of Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Airbus A321, Airbus A330-200, and Boeing 777-200ER aircraft to over 100 scheduled domestic, European and intercontinental destinations. The airline is a full member of SkyTeam alliance. In 2018, it was the twelfth-largest airline in Europe.
context_section_description: Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. was established on 16 September 1946 as Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali (Italian International Airlines). It was formed as a result of an Anglo-Italian agreement and was funded by the Italian government and British European Airways (BEA) in a 60/40 share arrangement with a capital of 900 million lire (£1,000,000). Its popular name, Alitalia, blended the Italian words ali (wings) and Italia (Italy). It started operations on 5 May 1947, in which year it carried over 10,000 passengers. The inaugural flight was with a Fiat G.12 Alcione, piloted by Virginio Reinero from Turin to Catania and Rome.
  The first intercontinental flight left a year later, flying between Milan and cities in South America. The Savoia-Marchetti SM.95 four engined airliner was used on European routes up to 1949. On 31 October 1957, Alitalia merged with Linee Aeree Italiane and took on the name of Alitalia – Linee Aeree Italiane. Alitalia was owned by the Italian Ministry of the Treasury (49%), other shareholders, including employees (49%) and Air France-KLM (2%, now: 25%).
  By 1960 Alitalia was operating jet airliners on some European routes (the Sud Caravelle) and the Douglas DC-8 on several longer distance routes. The Vickers Viscount propeller-turbine four-engined airliner was flown by Alitalia on its European network throughout the 1960s.
  In 1978 Alitalia had its head office in the Palazzo Alitalia in Rome.
  By the 1990s Alitalia was carrying 25 million passengers annually. In 1997 it set up a regional subsidiary Alitalia Expressand in 2001 became a member of SkyTeam. In November 2003 Alitalia announced that it would cut 2,700 jobs over the next three years to prepare the airline for a merger with Air France and KLM. In April 2004 Alitalia acquired Gandalf Airlines, a bankrupt regional airline, to gain additional slots at several European airports, mainly in Milan (Linate) and Paris (Charles De Gaulle).
  In 1995 Alitalia signed a partnership with KLM which aimed at a merger. The aim of the partnership was to develop Malpensa as a hub, along with Amsterdam (which lacked enough landing slots to expand further) and Rome Fiumicino.
  Typically, the Pope flies on a chartered Alitalia Jet. The Pope's flight is often nicknamed "Shepherd One" by the press, while the actual callsign is "Volo Papale" (papal flight, in Italian) followed by a serial number.
  In 2001 Alitalia renewed the ground handling contract with SEA. In the same year Alitalia joined SkyTeam alliance. 
  In September 2007, Alitalia announced that it would nearly halve its hub at Malpensa and instead focus on Rome-Fiumicino and move all intercontinental flights there. Until this announcement, Malpensa had been Alitalia's primary hub for intercontinental flights. The transition away from Malpensa and towards Rome-Fiumicino was completed by the end of March 2008. Minor intercontentinental destinations, which previously received flights only from Malpensa, henceforth received only flights from Rome-Fiumicino, or else were discontinued.
caption: Alitalia Douglas DC-8 at London Heathrow Airport in August 1960
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