Italy: Ryanair wants to occupy space left by Alitalia.
“Now we just have to convince the pope to fly with us,” said Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, after announcing that the Irish airline wants to occupy the space left by Alitalia and that to do so it will make Italy its first market, ahead of the UK or Spain.
The Irish low-cost airline announced that it will invest 2.5 billion euros this year in Italy to increase its fleet from 67 to 92 aircraft and open 17 new routes from Rome.
→ Ryanair launches new route between Manchester and Menorca.
Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, explained to the Italian media that Italy is a very attractive market, especially after the disappearance of the former flag carrier, Alitalia, which is in the process of liquidation.
It has been replaced by ITA, which is an airline with only 52 aircraft and less than 3,000 employees, out of the 11,000 that Alitalia had, and that is why Ryanair wants to launch itself into conquering that space.
“We are entering the space left by Alitalia and we want to grow our presence in Italy even more,” he said.
→ Ryanair recommended Lufthansa to reduce “ghost flights”.
He also referred to the expression of interest submitted by Italian-Swiss cruise company MSC and German airline Lufthansa to buy ITA from the Italian state, which currently owns it 100%.
“What will happen is that Lufthansa will buy ITA and feed the routes from Italy to Frankfurt and Munich. In the end, ITA will be another Lufthansa subsidiary, like Brussels Airlines, Swiss or Austrian,” he opined.
Now “we just have to convince the pope to fly with us,” since the pontiff has traditionally traveled with Alitalia, concluded EFE.
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