Air Italy to be merged into Meridiana fly from February 15

Air Italy (2005) (I9, Milan Malpensa) has ended flight operations as of March 1, 2018, following the return of its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) to the Italian civil aviation authority (Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione Civile - ENAC).

An ENAC statement issued last month indicates the production carrier has since been renamed from "Air Italy S.p.A." to “Air Italy Fleet Management, S.p.A.” (AIFMC). As a consequence of the return of its AOC, the one B737-700, seven B737-800s, and three B767-300(ER)s it had been operating on wet-lease for Meridiana have now transitioned to dry-leases. AIFMC will continue to exist until the primary leases on these aircraft expire.

The move is part of the restructuring of AQA Holding's assets wherein Meridiana fly, S.p.A. has now changed its full legal name to Air Italy, S.p.A, also effective March 1.

AQA Holding is a 49/51 joint-venture between Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) and Alisarda, a unit of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).

Meridiana fly (IG, Olbia) has formally defined its growth and development plan which will see it being rebranded as Air Italy (IG, Milan Malpensa) over the coming months.

Unveiled during a press conference in Milan on Monday, February 19, the plan will see AirItaly aim to operate approximately 50 aircraft by 2022. Of the fifty, twenty B737-8s will deliver from April 2018 through to 2021. AirItaly will also take delivery of five A330-200s this year beginning in spring. These will, in turn, be replaced by twenty B787-8s, commencing May 2019. The aircraft will be leased from Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l), which owns 49% of the carrier's AQA Holding parent, "at market rate". In total, AirItaly expects to operate a total of eight new aircraft this year, namely three B737 MAX 8s and five A330-200s.

In terms of network operations, AirItaly will develop Milan Malpensa as its primary hub with new longhaul connections to New York JFK and Miami Int'l already set to launch...