ITA Airways, the successor of Italy’s now-defunct flag carrier Alitalia, will introduce dozens of new planes into passenger service in 2023.
With the goal to grow its fleet to a total of 96 aircraft by the end of 2023, ITA Airways plans to add 39 new narrow-body and wide-body passenger jets next year.
The airline’s narrow-body fleet will mostly consist of single-aisle Airbus A321neos, according to ITA’s statement seen by Reuters on November 11, 2022. As for the wide-body operations, ITA will add at least nine Airbus A330-900s by the end of the upcoming year.
The state-owned airline explained that it has underwritten “all the commitments for increasing the fleet in 2023,” meaning that older planes will be withdrawn from service.
“The upgrade will mean a 73% increase in the ASK [available seat kilometer – ed. note] metric,” ITA wrote.
The new Italian airline currently operates a total of 66 aircraft, and aims to gradually expand the existing fleet to 105 planes, including 82 narrow-body jets and 23 wide-bodies by the end of 2025, estimating that at least 75% of the fleet will consist of new-generation aircraft.
The new planes which are due to join the carrier in 2023, will be used for ITA’s network expansion. The airline plans to launch new routes from its home base at Rome–Fiumicino International Airport (FCO) to at least five destinations, including Jeddah (JED), Riyadh (RUH), Kuwait City (KWI), San Francisco (SFO), and Washington (IAD).