Born in the post-Second War period, the history of Alitalia is closely connected with the history of Italy. For decades it has been an absolute first-rate player in the air transport market and has a full right in the history of world civil aviation. The Alitalia Team Virtual project aims to keep the memory alive and promote the knowledge of an Italian excellence that does not deserve to be forgotten.
The origins...
1947
First flight of Aerolinee Italiane Internazioni (AII), the Italian company from which Alitalia will develop. The company was owned by IRI (Institute for Industrial Reconstruction). The trafficking was carried out
Turin - Rome - Catania e
the aircraft used was a Fiat G-12 E.
1947... two months after
Two months after the first flight, the newborn "AII" makes the first international flight on the Rome - Oslo route.
The aircraft used, a Savoia Marchetti SM95, was loaned by the Italian Air Force.
1948
With a Milan - Buenos Aires flight (made with various stopovers), the company is consecrated as an intercontinental airline operator.
The following years will be used by "AII" to establish itself in the panorama of air transport, responding to the momentum of the country to recover from the miseries of the War.
1950-51
The fleet expands and the flight assistance service is created by the first hostesses, a service of excellence also for the Italian style: the uniforms of the flight attendants are designed by the Fontana sisters and hot meals (introduced in 1951) are served in ceramic dishes designed by Richard Ginori.
1957
Alitalia was born from the merger of "AII" and "LAI" (Airlines Italine). It is a "colossus" with 3,000 employees and 37 aircraft in the fleet.
This is how the only Italian flag company was created, based at Rome Ciampino airport.
1960-61
1960 was the year of the Olympics in Italy: Alitalia became its official sponsor and moved passengers to and from all over the world. 1961 marks the birth of the Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome, universally known as Fiumicino from the name of the location that hosts it.
Fiumicino becomes the main hub of Alitalia.
The "golden age"
1969
Alitalia's "historic" logo is born: the tricolor A that carries the first livery version with the green band along the longitudinal axis of the fuselage.
While the tricolor A, with various renovations, will never be abandoned, the green band will be used until the graphic makeover (the last one) in 2015 with pearly ivory livery with shaded streaks and only the Alitalia writing on the front of the aircraft.
1970
Alitalia establishes itself as the first European airline to carry out all its flights through a fleet of jets only.
Enter the giant of the skies par excellence: the Boeing 747.
1980-90
To meet the new needs of the market, Alitalia is continuing to renew its fleet. The MD80 and the first large-capacity Airbus 300 twin-jets join the company.
New intercontinental routes for the Americas and the East are added and the DC-10 and MD11 make their entry into the fleet.
The 90s
The Company opens up to the new Airbus 320 family and, for the long haul, the large Boeing 767, 777 and A330s begin to serve. These are the large twin-jet aircraft, which offer the best of modern technology to meet the need to contain consumption by expanding the range of flights in terms of passengers and goods, as required by the market.
Recent history
We have tried to outline the most significant moments concerning the birth and evolution of Alitalia "in a nutshell".
However, its history is also marked by crises of various kinds: from the tensions of the 1970s (the so-called "wild eagle strikes") to the changed market situations of the 1990s with the opening of low cost companies to the crisis following the 2001. All these situations were followed by various maneuvers to try to keep the Company competitive: from the attempts of partnership or alliance with other giants of air transport (KLM, Skyteam, Ethiad ...) to privatization, to state interventions. Alitalia's recent history is too long, complex and painful to be summarized here. Anyone who wants can find a lot of documentation on the web through which they can deepen and maybe get a personal idea. To us and to you, if you want to join us, will remain the satisfaction of keeping the Company operating in the skies of simulated flight all over the world!
