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Alitalia's history
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ALITALIA'S HISTORY
On 5 May 1947, a Fiat G-12 Alcione, piloted by Virginio Reinero, took off from Turin on a flight to Catania via Rome, marking the start of Alitalia’s activities. Two months later, a Savoia Marchetti SM-95 bound for Oslo took off from Rome with 38 Norwegian sailors onboard – the Company’s first international flight. In March the following year, a Lancastrian flew from Milan to Buenos Aires, thereby marking Alitalia’s first intercontinental flight. The plane departed from Milan and made stops in Rome, Dakar, Natal, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo before reaching Buenos Aires on a haul lasting more than 36 hours.
Since its inception, Alitalia has stood out in the Italian market and its history has often been intertwined with Italy’s own. In 1960, Alitalia was the official carrier for the Rome Olympic games. In the same period, the Company took delivery of its first jets (DC-8 and Caravelle aircraft) and the number of passengers transported exceeded one million for the first time. The Company continued to grow in the 1970s with the opening of routes to North America and Japan and with the introduction of the first Jumbo B747, the “giant of the skies” carrying 369 passengers. In the 1980s and 1990s, the fleet continued to grow with the arrival of McDonnell Douglas MD80s and MD11s, Airbuses and Boeing 767s. The number of passengers transported each year was close to 20 million.
Since 2001, Alitalia has been a member of the SkyTeam alliance whose members include some of Europe’s and the world’s leading companies – Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Air France, China Southern, Continental, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Airlines, KLM, Korean Air, Northwest and the "associates" Air Europa, Copa Airlines e Kenya Airways - and whose vast network provides services to 841 destinations in more than 162 countries.
Find out more about our principal routes and Alitalia’s history... | | |
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