Alitalia will stop selling flights past October 14, 2021, from midnight tonight, and the new airline, ITA – Italia Trasporto Aereo, will begin selling flights on August 26 for travel from October 15, 2021.
Existing Alitalia ticket holders will see their revenue and award tickets canceled if travel is not completed by October 14, 2021. After that, revenue tickets are refunded, and miles returned to MilleMiglia accounts (not sure what will happen with the program).
You can access Alitalia here and the new ITA here.
Here’s the information from Alitalia:
Paid Tickets
SCHEDULE CHANGES AND REFUNDS FOR FLIGHTS FROM 15 OCTOBER
Following the procedure for the sale of the “Aviation” Branch of “Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana Spa” in extraordinary administration to the fully public owned company Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., the Ministry of Economic Development has authorized Alitalia to stop ticket sales and, as a consequence, to interrupt flight activities starting from 15 October 2021, being the initial date of the new flagship carrier operations.
As a result, Alitalia is offering passengers holding an Alitalia ticket (055) for flights purchased on all Alitalia Markets:
- by and not after 24 August 2021;
- with a travel date from 15 October 2021;
- to/from any destination/origin worldwide;
that have been canceled, the forms of assistance and reimbursement below, of their choice:
- change of booking (rebooking or rerouting – or modification of the itinerary to reach the original destination or return to the point of origin of the trip), without fare integration, on a flight that can be used by the passenger, by 14 October 2021 (final date of return);
- change of destination with possible fare integration, to travel by 14 October 2021 (final date of return). There is no refund for differences in the fare.
Change of destination will only be possible:
- for tickets that are IN ITALY, for destinations that are IN ITALY;
- for tickets that are INTERNATIONAL, for destinations that are INTERNATIONAL.
To adjust or change the booking, passengers can phone the Call Center or alternatively contact the travel agency that issued the ticket.
If they are unable or not interested in rescheduling, passengers can request the full refund, without penalty, of the price at which the ticket was purchased or the residual value of the ticket for the journey not yet made. The request will be accepted and defined as soon as possible, in accordance with Regulation EC261/2004.
To request a full refund, passengers who have purchased tickets on the Alitalia website will be able to click on link found in the cancellation notification message.
To request a partial refund, passengers can phone the Call Center. Passengers who have purchased a ticket at a travel agency can contact their travel agent directly.
You can use current tickets through October 14, 2021, by changing destination if you so wish. However, passengers ticketed for flights past October 14 have no other option than to request a refund of the fare paid.
MilleMiglia Award Tickets
PASSENGERS WITH MILLEMIGLIA AWARD TICKETS
Passengers in possession of MilleMiglia award tickets with a travel date from 15 October 2021 to/from any destination/origin around the world, booked on a canceled flight, can:
- contact the Call Center to rebook, without penalty, on Alitalia flights or flights operated by SkyTeam Partners and other Frequent Flyer Partners by 14 October 2021 (last date of return);
- request a change of destination, with mileage integration if necessary, on either operational AZ flights or operational flights of SkyTeam Partners and other Frequent Flyer Partners to fly within 14 October 2021 (last date of return).
Passengers who want to give up the trip can request the re-credit of the miles, the refund of taxes and surcharges, by clicking on the link present in the cancelation notification message.
Here Alitalia is referring to canceled flights. It is unclear what happens to award tickets for flights by SkyTeam partners that are not canceled by the operating airline.
Is the current Alitalia going to cancel them if the flight is past October 14 and credit the miles back to MilleMiglia account, or do they allow passengers to utilize the flights?
Travel Pass
TRAVELPASS
Passengers in possession of Alitalia TravelPass (055) for flights purchased on all Alitalia Markets:
- by and not after 24 August 2021;
- with a travel date from 15 October 2021;
- to/from any destination/origin worldwide;
that have been canceled, can select from one of the following options
- Change of booking (rebooking or rerouting to reach the original destination), with no fare integration, on flight that can be used by the passenger, by 14 October 2021 (last return date).
- If they are unable or not interested in rescheduling, passengers can request a full refund, without penalty, of the price of the ticket. The refund will be paid in the original form of payment. Tso request a refund, passengers must contact the Alitalia Contact Center.
Passengers in possession of Alitalia TravelPass Packages, purchased on all Alitalia Markets, valid beyond 14 October 2021, can take advantage of one of the following options:
- use of the totally or partially unused package with booking and ticket issuance by 14 October 2021 (last return date). It will not be possible to change the parameters selected during the purchase phase of the package (destination, names, number of trips, number of passengers, booking period, blackout dates)
- in the case of a lack of possibilities or interest in using the package by 14 October 2021, passengers can request a full refund the price at which the package was purchased (if totally unused) or the residual value of the package (if partially unused). The refund will be paid in the original form of payment.
To request a refund, passengers should contact the Call Center.
Here are the previous articles about ITA:
Alitalia Operations To End October 14 & Italia Trasporti Aereo (ITA) Begins October 15, 2021
New Mini-Alitalia In The Making After Losses Mount (€8 Billion In Four Years)
Conclusion
It appears that this Alitalia to ITA conversion might be just another attempt to keep the “Alitalia” alive, although with no “connections” to the old entity.
But haven’t we seen all this preivously? Alitalia has been relaunched four/five times while billions have been lost by the Italian taxpayers and Etihad, which once tried to revitalize the airline without success.
The new ITA may license the Alitalia name and perhaps even purchase the MilleMiglia frequent flier program from the entity that buys it from the bankrupt airline (they cannot acquire it directly).
If memory serves me well current Alitalia is similar relaunch of troubled carried formed from Alitalia CAI and Air One. Air One was actually a well run private airline. So they did that before – dropped the old Alitalia with all the debts and created a new efficient smaller airline from scratch… or so they say.
It’s sad that such a country can’t have an efficient flag carrier bringing Italy as a brand to the World. There are so many issues with Alitalia that prevent it from being efficient though: labor issues, corruption, terrible Fiumicino airport, northern Italians don’t see the point of flying down to make a connection at the terrible airport with lesser frequencies, northern Italians don’t like the airline as ‘it is from Rome’. I believe nothing would change this time around. The airline with such a small fleet and frequencies will be even less competitive. Or maybe they simply focus on their precious slots in Linate and be more like boutique airline for Milan – would be a way to stay profitable (though politicians in Rome won’t let that happen).