ITA Airways President Alfredo Altavilla woos Lufthansa

Rome Until recently, the building at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport belonged to the bankrupt Alitalia. On the doors there are still stickers with the old lettering of the state airline, which could no longer be saved after almost 20 years without a profit. ITA Airways’ successor has been in the air for a month – with fewer aircraft, fewer staff and very ambitious goals.

In an interview with Handelsblatt, Chairman of the Board of Directors Alfredo Altavilla announced that he would like to be in the black by the second quarter of 2023. “ITA Airways has to earn money,” says the former Fiat manager. Above all, he wants to save on personnel costs. Altavilla has adjusted the salaries of pilots and flight attendants to those of “European airlines under corona conditions”; they are now between 40 and 50 percent lower than before. Only when the profit zone has been reached can one talk about higher wages.