Continuing its constant stream of new tools and announcements that have marked its history since its first flight last October, ITA Airways, the Italian government’s airline venture, has started the sales of its «Flight Pass» progam.
With it, passengers are available to pre-pay tickets in a certain route and class, with guaranteed discounts over buying tickets with the normal process.
While there was little fanfare over the new feature, it is a product aimed at frequent fliers and corporate customers, as tickets can be assigned to a maximum of 24 people – that is, one ticket for each, as bundles sold range from six to 24 flights.
Multi-destination packages also exist, allowing passengers to travel within ITA’s domestic, European or international network.
The feature is powered by American travel tech company Optiontown – which has developed similar applications for different airlines around the world – and grants access to ITA-operated flights only. Date restrictions also apply in the cheaper packages, although, in its press release, it claimed «[the locked price of the package] allows for convenient prices also during [Summer] season».
To Aviacionline, ITA confirmed that this move «is a first step towards [a] full subscription model».
If that was to happen, ITA would become Europe’s first airline to try out the subscription economy – where the customer pays a monthly fee and receives, in return, credits that allow for travel within the company’s network.
