It’s a big day for aviation in Italy. Yesterday Alitalia technically ceased operations, and today Italy’s new national airline, ITA Airways, launched. We’ve very slowly been learning the details of the new airline, including the carrier’s fleet plans, though there are some more updates today.
In this post:
ITA Airways reveals livery
While no planes are fully painted in this livery yet, ITA Airways has revealed its new livery, and it’s… creative and not what you’d expect. The plane features the colors of the Italian flag (green, white, and red) on the back of the tail and the engines, and then the rest of the plane is Savoy blue.
Admittedly the blue has some historical significance, but I can’t help but feel like the livery doesn’t match, and looks like it belongs on two different planes. The new livery almost looks like a cross between Alitalia and Breeze Airways.
I guess ITA Airways should be commended for not choosing the same boring white livery you find on just about every airline. So yeah, I’m conflicted about this livery, and not sure what to make of it. It’s bold, but maybe a bit too much? If the airline was going to choose blue for the livery, I feel like it might have almost made more sense to just ditch green and red, at least so prominently?
ITA Airways also bought the Alitalia brand
Yesterday it was announced that ITA Airways bought the Alitalia brand for 90 million EUR. This caused many to wonder whether Italy’s new airline would indeed be called Alitalia. Well, the answer seems to be no. Rather ITA Airways claims to have purchased the Alitalia brand to avoid any other investors from obtaining the rights to the name.
I’m not totally sure this is the best use of $100+ million in taxpayer money, but then again, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to what taxpayers have spent on the airline up until now…
Bottom line
Alitalia finally (officially) ceased operations yesterday, and today ITA Airways was born. While the airline is having a really slow start, it looks like the ITA Airways brand will be used for the new airline, despite the new company paying over $100 million to acquire the rights to the Alitalia name.
What do you make of ITA Airways’ new livery?
Exceptionally ugly livery. Looks so cheap. It hurts to watch their planes. And I guess quite pricey in comparison to predominantly white as alternative.
Thank you for allowing comments. I think it's so ugly, vulgar, pretentious, with the glossy, shining blue (squadra azurra). Alitalia's livery was nice. So long to Alitalia, I will miss her.
The blue actually works for me. It's different, nice and shiny. I'm even curious about that pattern on the tail extending towards the fuselage. I wish it were more visible, not so much opacity as to be barely visible and tail looks empty of meaning.
ITA is such a meaningless name and the entire name ITA Airways simply doesn't work for me. It has zero appeal, nor brand recognition, and is weird to pronounce. ITALIA...
The blue actually works for me. It's different, nice and shiny. I'm even curious about that pattern on the tail extending towards the fuselage. I wish it were more visible, not so much opacity as to be barely visible and tail looks empty of meaning.
ITA is such a meaningless name and the entire name ITA Airways simply doesn't work for me. It has zero appeal, nor brand recognition, and is weird to pronounce. ITALIA Airways would have worked better, even better Air Italia. And hideous brand font.
Very ugly. The latest Alitalia livery was so classy. I get the Savoy blue, but together with unimaginative flag design and logo it just looks cheap and wrong. Looks like a low budget airline.
I don't see what's "strange" about this livery, it's beautiful, classy and embodies the Azzurri theme. And it's a step aside of the all too common 'eurowhite' seen in too many liveries
Alitalia + Brezze Airways = ITA Airways!
I really liked the Alitalia livery; it was timeless and so clearly said "airline of Italy"). The new ITA livery is just plain ugly. I am surprised that a prestigious firm such as Landor would create such an unappealing visual identity for ITA's planes. First, every new airline is painting its planes blue (e.g., Breeze) and many existing airlines are changing liveries to ones more focused on blue (e.g., Alaska). So painting a plane blue...
I really liked the Alitalia livery; it was timeless and so clearly said "airline of Italy"). The new ITA livery is just plain ugly. I am surprised that a prestigious firm such as Landor would create such an unappealing visual identity for ITA's planes. First, every new airline is painting its planes blue (e.g., Breeze) and many existing airlines are changing liveries to ones more focused on blue (e.g., Alaska). So painting a plane blue is anything but fresh. Second, the addition on the tail of the red and green stripes to pay homage to the former Alitalia livery just doesn't work. It looks like and afterthought, and it clashes terribly with the blue. I believe ITA squandered a huge opportunity to be fresh, bold and attractive.
there are WAY more airlines "focused" on white that there are "focused on blue", try again.
Great information. The Savoy Royal Colors, I just learned something. Well, then . It's indicating a continuation. The brand is still within house, and it can be used - again. This was the Italian Unions that would not give. Eventhough the Italian government was giving time, help, and guidence to the Alitalia staff. Well, I hope to fly ITAirways
Great
CNN: Italian flight attendants strip off to protest working conditions.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/alitalia-ita-strike-underwear/index.html
One of the first words that went through my head was “AquaFresh.”
But I admire the decision to ditch the Euro White.
Hmm. Brands need to be bold, of all people, lol, italians should get that!
Seems super weak.
But, Alitalia, for me, was impressive in the service! I hope it continues.
It wouldn’t really have mattered what they came up with, some people would react with out ridiculous over the top outrage and hysteria.
Looks like a military rendering of the Italian Air Force !
For once I disagree with you, Ben.
I love this new livery, and it's unique and trendy. Maybe more airways should follow this.
Ben, The Livery is Bold and Stylish, not strange at all......
It's hideous in every way, the worst livery reveal since Lufthansa. Really bad.
Kudos for going bold and doing something modern and different.
We dont need another white euro fuselage or bicolor scheme.
Not a good look. (Paint the planes blue to please sports fans? Really?) The Italian government would have been better off retaining the Alitalia livery and using the money it will take to repaint planes on things like improved severance packages for loyal employees who will be laid-off, through no fault of their own.
Blue is the historical color of the House of Savoy, the king - before Italy became a republic. It is a 'national' color in Italy, and no longer has any political significance.
Maybe this is true in theory.... but ITA? it looks like a corporate private jet.
But (IMHO) maybe!? That is what they feel the "new normal" is?
If they are correct, then the brand is 5Star.
It reflects the colours their national sports teams wear. Google Italy Soccer Jersey - exact mash up of solid blue with small flag detail. The Italian people will be very happy with it I think. It reminds me of how Air New Zealand moved to a black livery based on the All-Blacks teams
Also, the new ITA branding will look too much like Neos, the other long-haul Italian airline. I didn’t think they’d flat out change their brand and livery along with these corporate changes. To reiterate, I simply don’t understand why ITA doesn’t just keep the customer-facing Alitalia branding that we’ve all recognized. This is just sad.
If there is one good use for the expression "Put Lipstick on a Pig", this is it.
https://www.itaspa.com/it_it/
It looks like this is it… ️♂️
"Admittedly the blue has some historical significance"
Italy won this years EuroCup in blue jerseys, the same color they've worn for as long as I can remember
That’s what you get for a $5 design gig from fiverr.com
No one is talking about the fact that there is a Brazilian airline called ITA? It’s site is voeita.com.br which means fly ITA
Most Brazilian airlines have websites of the form voe___.com.br, such as voegol.com.br, voeazul.com.br,etc. There should be no confusion.
Alitalia and ITA are both government owned so the money used to buy the brand was paid from the government to the government so it didn’t actually cost the taxpayer anything.
Looks cheap and like a low cost carrier. Not like a flagship global airline…
But for decades, Alitalia has been the best example of a "High-Cost, Low-Service airline. The new livery perfectly suggests it.
Thrift and functionality implied keeping the old livery and deleting part of the word al ITA lia
The new ITA is starting pissing money from day One. Not a good sign.
OMG … day 1 really started well with the news they aquired the brand … but 90m just not use the brand and prevent others from using it?
Apart from the branding issue: Still no news on alliance membership, and perhaps more significantly, no working website to book flights … this makes Balta look professional, in comparison.
I actually quite like the livery.
But the new airline, I’m not so sure. I made a booking this afternoon on the ITA web site, it seemed to go through, but several hours later I still haven’t received any email confirmation, don’t have a PNR to reference, etc. Went back to the web site and it doesn’t seem to let you look up your booking to manage it. So what do I do at...
I actually quite like the livery.
But the new airline, I’m not so sure. I made a booking this afternoon on the ITA web site, it seemed to go through, but several hours later I still haven’t received any email confirmation, don’t have a PNR to reference, etc. Went back to the web site and it doesn’t seem to let you look up your booking to manage it. So what do I do at checkin if they can’t find my booking? Show the agent my credit card statement?
And while I have Sky Team status through Delta, there was nowhere in the booking process to enter any FF number and I’m not expecting to get any benefits.
ITA is not a member of SkyTeam or a Delta partner.
ITA announced it joined SkyTeam.
This whole saga has disaster written all over it...
* Terrible branding--they have no money, spend a bunch on buying a brand, but not using it so need to pay to rebrand with a brand that has no equity
* Terrible livery--that will cost a fortune to repaint...remember there is no money?
* No website--they've had months to plan the switchover, but just seems to be a terrible transition
This all seems like an attempt...
This whole saga has disaster written all over it...
* Terrible branding--they have no money, spend a bunch on buying a brand, but not using it so need to pay to rebrand with a brand that has no equity
* Terrible livery--that will cost a fortune to repaint...remember there is no money?
* No website--they've had months to plan the switchover, but just seems to be a terrible transition
This all seems like an attempt by the Italian government to keep a flag carrier, but have learnt nothing from the fact that they are incapable of running an airline
The logo makes me think ITA is either a manufacturer of cleaning products or heavy industrial machinery, but then it goes full circle and the tail looks like it's a knock-off Louis Vuitton handbag...
Lucky, remember when Great Dane Airlines launched, and you mentioned how you liked their livery?
Well the airline shut down recently...
Wow do I love this
Forza azzurri! I love the blue and the flag.
The branding is overly complicated. Is the green and red stripe image (on the engines) supposed to be a logo? Then it should have been continued on the tail and in the ITA lettering at the front. I dont mind the blue per se, I get that they wanted to differentiate themselves from Alitalia but, to me, the polka dots and stripes on the tail just look dumb. Plus whoever did their photoshop work was...
The branding is overly complicated. Is the green and red stripe image (on the engines) supposed to be a logo? Then it should have been continued on the tail and in the ITA lettering at the front. I dont mind the blue per se, I get that they wanted to differentiate themselves from Alitalia but, to me, the polka dots and stripes on the tail just look dumb. Plus whoever did their photoshop work was lazy, the logo is literally "painted" over the windows and will not look that way in reality.
The new livery is beautiful and very Italian! For people more familiar with calcio (soccer) the shade of blue immediately evokes the azzurri. And the little nostalgic Alitalia logo on the engine is so well thought. Lovely...
It's obvious you haven't watched many Italian soccer matches. That is not the tone of blue used by the Italian national team at all!
I'm glad you pointed that out. I looked up savoy blue and the photo of the soccer team showed a much deeper blue
More akin to the Italian rugby blue I would say?
Boo that they didn't pick a white body plane. Everyone on earth knows a white plane is the best. Planes don't need no damn color
???
Planes don't need a color? White is a color, and needs to be painted on the aircraft. They don't come out of the factory white.
And your comment that "everyone on earth knows a white plane is best" is completely subjective.
Are you kidding me right now?! I thought that since ITA successfully bid for the Alitalia brand, they would keep the iconic Alitalia’s branding and livery intact, since it’s the one customers would easily recognize at the airport. The most recent one they had (before this ITA thing started) worked great. Why couldn’t they just leave well enough alone? Didn’t they make the same kind of change in 2009 and 2015 while keeping their “look” the same?
The new livery is beautiful! I can’t follow your reasoning that the new livery is somehow a cross between Breeze and Alitalia. That’s like saying the American Airlines livery is a cross between Delta and Air France because they use Red, White and Blue color schemes. The tricolore of the Italian flag on the tail, the national color azzurri on the body. Simple, clean and classy! Can’t wait for the review!
Interesting - according to the MilleMiglia (frequent flyer programm) website the program will continue without Alitalia - that means that members will keep their Skyteam status. Miles can be redeemed for flights with Air France and KLM.
Does anyone have enough miles to do a test booking and give feedback here?
It's not just soccer. Italian teams wear blue in all international competitions, like the Olympics, etc.
It's in honor of the House of Savoy, under whom Italy was unified in 1861.
To be more precise, so called Savoy Blue (the very same that Italian national team uses) is color of House Savoy, last dynasty of Italian kings
@Ben:
The name Alitalia was sold by whom? We received the €90.000.000?
I guess it was sold by the Italian government? So in that case it’s not really paid buy the taxpayer but was moved from one pocket to the other.
Anyway, keeping Alitalia would have been cheaper: same uniforms, same tableware, same check in signs etc.
Now they have to do an entire rebranding…
The sky blue is a homage to Azzuri, the color that Italy's soccer team play when abroad. The livery is the kit that the plane is wearing when going overseas.
I think getting rid of the "iconic" stylized A on the tail and replacing it with three thin strips is a big mistake. I'm not a fan of EuroWhite liveries but the previous Alitalia tail worked (unlike the pathetic AA version).
There attempt to somehow include blue on the body doesn't work for me at all.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a major reason seemingly every airline goes with white because paint is extremely heavy and costs them huge $$ with regards to fuel? So isn't there something funny ("suspect" is probably a better word) about a bankrupt airline doing this?
I believe that is why AA went with the metal look for decades but newer planes (787 for one, so the ones built using composites or aluminum I think) need to be painted. I don’t think different shades weigh differently but white retains the least heat.
Not sure why this isn't obvious, but it's also the color of Team Azzurri. You may have heard Italians are a little interested in their soccer teams.
Your last review was in early september. I get that there’s still restrictions, but isn’t that a little too long?
I think two months ago I read something about a Jacksonville to Tampa flight on a low cost carrier... Such exciting places came forward in my travel wish list. Luckily there are more sites where authors at least travel instead compiling articles like a travel data swarm, sorry lake. I miss that much those error fares that I was eager to buy or those 1st class aspirational trips....
(it has to be said also I can't stand some annoying guys out there he he...)
This looks like some avgeek fantasy livery
Italian flag colors and a colored fuselage all good starting points but boy this looks hastily pieced together
Perhaps they should have stuck with a Euro white livery so they can more easily rebrand the next time Italy has to re-launch a national carrier with the same assets to escape bankruptcy.
So are they in Skyteam
Good question.
Does anyone know what happened to MilleMiglia Miles and status?
Is it just lost?
I believe the MillleMiglia program was up for bidding, to be operated by an independent potentially. A good few million miles held in limbo at the moment that people were unable to redeem. I would assume status to be lost, depressingly.
No. It’s a new airline. Air France and KLM suspended the interline agreement.
.... Volare, oh oh
Cantare, oh oh oh
Nel blu dipinto di blu
Felice di stare lassù.
Savoy Blue is one of the national Italian colors. It's used by most of the national sports team for their jerseys and even in some institutional flags. Historically it was the color of the royal House of Savoy (Savoia). The main question is: when are we going to see the new liveries? Right now ITA is still flying with the Alitalia branding.
Italy are known as the Azzurri ("the blues") when they play sport. It is a common colour to represent the country. It comes from the fact Italy was united under the House of Savoy in the 1800s and this is their colour.
Italy plays sports in blue so it’s not a totally random color for them… agree this specific shade of blue is meh, though
Italy’s football (soccer) team play in blue so maybe the blue has some relevance to the nation, agreed though better than plain old white ♂️