ITA Airways, the Italian government’s post-Alitalia venture in the airline industry, has announced this Friday it will hire two Embraer 190 from German Airways. It is, according to its press release, a measure that will cover the lower density needs of the airline while it does not take delivery of the planned Airbus A220 jets.
The agreement, which is expected to start from March 28, will cover three routes, from Milan/Linate to Geneva, London/City, and Luxembourg.
The flights are already for sale on ITA Airways’ website, and the booking system flags these as operated by «German Airways dba ITA Airways».
«Indeed, this operation represents a jumpstart compared to the Industrial Plan and appears in a market test [sic] condition that follows the rebound in the business market», says the press release. ITA, in addition to this, labels the move as an add-on in the company’s original plans.
Embraer’s role
The Embraer is especially important in the London City airport as the airfields’ very restrictive rules essentially make it impossible for an Airbus narrowbody to operate there with a high payload.
Since that one is the most central of London’s airports – and therefore the highest-yielding – ITA needed to find a solution before its A220s arrive, the date of which was not yet disclosed.
ITA’s predecessor, Alitalia, had its own «CityLiner» branch, which operated a fleet of Embraer jets for that specific purpose.
The Linate-City route is especially important. Mainly because it is currently not attended by any airlines. Though this year, according to Cirium’s Diio Mi, British Airways only plans to serve Linate from Heathrow. And also because Linate is the central airport of Milan, which again means higher yields.
Not for nothing, ITA is planning a shuttle between the two airports, with three daily rotations. The airline will also offer Business class in the E190.
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