Photo courtesy of Alitalia's Facebook page
New Year's Day saw the first flight of the "new Alitalia," the company announced in an official press release. The Airbus A330 took off from New York's JFK and landed at Milan Malpensa. The jet was decked out in new livery featuring both the Alitalia and Etihad Airways logos. The latter is the new owner of 49 percent of the airline, alongside a majority Italian ownership. Expo Milano 2015 signage also received generous space, as Alitalia is the official global carrier of the event, which draws 20 million visitors to Milan between May and October 2015.
To commemorate the event, passengers were presented with a Magnifica class amenity kit by designer Salvatore Ferragamo.
"Today we celebrate the beginning of a new Alitalia," said Silvano Cassano, CEO. "We know we have much work to do, and we will move quickly. In the spring, Alitalia will resume service to China and in 2015 we will increase service to North America and Latin America. We will develop a range of new destinations, new services and a fleet with more long-haul aircraft, a new livery and new refurbished aircraft interiors."
The association with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, means a new network will be established with flights to Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Australia based around a United Arab Emirates hub.
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