“A piece of Italy flying around the world”: the rise and fall of Alitalia

(CNN) – Goodbye, Alitalia.

The famous Italian flag carrier has announced that it will stop issuing tickets, causing a countdown of a few weeks until its famous red and green livery disappears permanently from our skies.

The national airline will be replaced in October by ITA, a smaller company with a different logo, but the service that brought pride, style and Italian cuisine – not to mention the Pope – to all corners of the world. planet will be gone.

While the demise of Alitalia may cause a sense of loss for many Italians, it is unlikely to surprise. The airline has spent the past few decades hesitating on the verge of collapse, as authorities struggled to establish rescue alliances with investors and other global airlines.

“Every time he managed to be rescued, albeit with the sole result of prolonging his agony even further,” says Giovanni Orsina, director of the School of Government at LUISS University based in Rome.

Founded 74 years ago, Alitalia was once known to Italians as the “winged arrow”, also known as the “winged arrow” in honor of speed, which will be permanently retired. The tails of his plane bore the popular logo of a capital “A” shaped like the wing of an airplane and colored like the Italian flag.

Aside from its cuisine and car brands, it was perhaps one of Italy’s most recognized symbols abroad.

When Italian families returned home from a long journey and set foot inside an Alitalia plane, the flight attendant finally greeted them with a warm “buongiorno” and served steamed spaghetti with tomato sauce and cotoletta alla Milanese for lunch, it was like coming home. To kill time, passengers could read Italian national newspapers.

Papal blessing

Alitalia was proud of the Italian style and cuisine. The flight attendants of the fifties were dressed in elegant uniforms designed by the sewing house Sorelle Fontana. In recent years, an impressive roster that included Delia Biagiotti, Alberto Fabiani, Renato Balestra and even Giorgio Armani have created elegant dresses and comfortable seats.

The hot Italian cuisine served on board sometimes made the company a favorite of international travelers. The franchise sold luxury Italian perfumes, watches, scarves and ties. In less enlightened times, husbands returning from a long-haul flight would bring their wives the latest item from the boutique.

The airline also had the blessing of the religious authorities. From 1964 it regularly served as the Pope’s official airline, with the size of the aircraft depending on the distance flown. The plane carrying the Pope is usually called “Shepherd One”, the papal equivalent of Air Force One, and receives flight number AZ4000.

It was not all glamor and prestige for Alitalia. For the past 30 years, the Italian government has sent billions of euros to the airline to try to save it from extinction and keep its employees in jobs.

But, says Orsina, the airline simply could not cope with global competition and adapt to changes in the aviation sector.

“The fall of Alitalia is the latest symbol of Italy’s historic consecrated difficulty in coping with globalization and growing competition,” he tells CNN. “The travel industry has undergone a revolution while Alitalia was stuck in a stalemate, suffocated by companies, lobbies, unions and political pressures to keep it afloat despite the problems and reality of a sector in evolution “.

Alitalia showed little resistance, says Orsina. It just couldn’t keep up with the arrival of low-cost, efficient carriers that operated with smaller crews and offered more competitive fares, newer planes, and a wider list of global destinations.

Although Italy has always been a popular tourist destination, Alitalia’s profits continued to decline due to increased competition, accumulated debts and bankruptcy. The company passed several times to an extraordinary administration. Numerous long-term unsuccessful rescue missions were mounted.

“Getting to the bottom”

The aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, which severely impacted the aerospace industry, dealt a severe blow to Alitalia, but the lethal strike has probably been the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Authorities continued to resurrect it, believing that Alitalia could not fail, but there are limits and we have reached the bottom,” Orsina says. “It’s like healing a terminal patient. You can try to make him feel less pain for a while, but not forever. That’s therapeutic stubbornness.”

Alitalia’s golden age began in the 1950s, when post-World War II reconstruction sparked an economic boom in Italy and families were finally able to afford to fly to distant places.

“Italy was a defeated country recovering from the wounds of World War II and Alitalia represented collective hope and national identity,” says Gregory Alegi, an expert in the aerospace industry. “It conveyed a sense of belonging.”

When the jet age arrived, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome helped spread Alitalia’s fame around the world: the company even created a poster showing a javelin thrower with a plane flying overhead.

“Having a state carrier was a necessity for Italy, an icon of national pride and patriotism,” says Orsina. “Italy couldn’t afford not to have one, it was like having the police and carabiners. Alitalia was an indispensable accessory of the state because it was like having a piece of Italy flying around the world.” says Orsina.

Alitalia’s problems began in the 1990s, when European deregulation made air traffic more competitive and Italian railways strengthened, according to aerospace expert Alegi.

Delays and cancellations

The situation worsened when the authorities tried to privatize Alitalia, triggering an endless search for partners of carriers and entrepreneurs willing to support the state to meet the challenges of a free market. All associations failed, while the unions fought against the dismissal plans.

And while Alitalia was loved as a symbol, it was often hated by its passengers.

The endless crisis ended up causing a decrease in the quality of service, says Orsina, with staff strikes, delayed or canceled flights and fewer long-haul trips. The Italians began to get frustrated.

This has not clouded the nostalgia felt by retired pilots, captains and air assistants during good times, when wages were high and work brought benefits and prestige.

Rosetta Scrugli, a former Alitalia passenger who regularly traveled to Asia to work, complains that union protests have caused her to miss important meetings abroad.

“The flight arrived late or was even canceled,” she says. “I spent hours waiting at the terminal and my luggage has been lost several times. It’s good to fly with a domestic carrier if things go smoothly, otherwise it can be hell. Patriotism has nothing to do, l ‘efficiency is key “.

Scrugli also complained that Alitalia used to fly to Asia via Milan, with no direct flights from Rome.

Although little is still known about the airline’s anointed successor, according to Alegi, there are hopes that ITA will succeed when Alitalia has failed.

But since it will be state-owned, at least in the short term, no one expects it to shoot up yet.