Airbus is at the forefront of the race for a multi-million dollar contract to renew the fleet of Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA), a company formed after the bankruptcy of Alitalia.
The agreement is valued at 5.3 billion dollars and foresees for the supply of 81 new generation aircraft over a period of four years, as reported by our partner in Brazil Aeroin.net.
Alitalia has been working on the long-range aircraft fleet renewal project for some years, but it had not yet been completed. Last year, in the midst of the restructuring process, it was even considered that the company would order Boeing 787 jets, but the idea fell through.
See also: Alitalia will cease to exist on October 14 and will be replaced by ITA
The truth, at this point, is that ITA executives have not yet made a final decision and are also having conversations with Boeing. However, industry sources say Airbus is the favorite to win the contract. In the end, everything will depend on the package and the advantages that the Italian airline can obtain in the business.
Among the manufacturers, neither Airbus nor Boeing wanted to comment with Bloomberg about the potential deal. The launch of ITA´s flights is scheduled for October 15, from which time the company will operate with the personnel and part of the former Alitalia fleet.
