Although Italia Air Transport likes the idea of keeping the recognizable Alitalia brand, it may have to renounce its acquisition in order to be able to access the 3 billion euros in state aid.
The workers of the old Alitalia airline, now renamed ITA (Italian Air Transport), intend to keep the old brand for reasons of image and the continuity of marketing in the world.
Among the questions and clarifications that the EU Commission requested from the Conte government through a letter investigating the transition between the new ITA and the old Alitalia, there is a specific point on the fate of the brand of the historic airline.
Italy Air Transport, in fact, may have to renounce the acquisition of the Alitalia brand to gain access to the 3 billion euros of state aid that will make the newco led by Francesco Caio and Fabio Lazzerini take off.
According to the periodical L’Espresso, in the EU letter the importance of the theme of the discontinuity between old and new management is specified: a theme that involves all the assets, but which would specifically question the passage of the historic brand – with 75 years of history – from one company to another.
Starting operations with the historic brand would be a sign that the EU does not mark a clear distance from the history of the national airline.
Furthermore, the nine pages of the letter also contain requests both on the methods of identifying profitable routes by IT management – especially for domestic ones where a strong presence of competing carriers is envisaged – and on the need to rely on a transparent European tender and non-discriminatory on the sale of ground services and on maintenance, including the release of slots present in the most congested airports.
