Well, I wouldn't buy any tickets just yet! Italian government still has to rule on whether the Air France bid for Alitalia will go through or not, but whoever buys it will no doubt make various route changes.
Well, folks, it now looks like this nonstop FCO/LAX/FCO flight will commence on Sunday, June 1, 2008, which is 24 years TO THE DAY of Alitalia's inaugural flight from MXP to LAX (discontinued in 2002).
(Alitalia read my previous posting and decided that May 21 was not a propitious day to begin service, just kidding .....)
I have heard that Alitalia has owned the rights to run a LAX-FCO non-stop flight for years. Maybe the infusion of some Air France bucks will make it easier for Alitalia to start up this service. Wasn't there once a non-stop flight? Anyway, I hope it is true; nothing would be nicer (for me) than to leave LA and get off the plane in Rome!
Alitalia began direct flights from MXP to LAX on June 1, 1984, with four weekly 747-200s which made a stopover at ORD.
By the summer of 1986, service during the summer was increased to five times weekly, always with a stop at ORD. Winter schedules were reduced to thrice weekly.
Nonstop service to LAX began during the summer of 1987, but still only four times per week.
By the summer of 1990, nonstop service was increased to 6 times per week (becoming daily in later years).
MD11s replaced 747-200s by the mid-1990s.
Flights were discontinued in 2002.
After the 9-11 attacks, an Alitalia MD11 was the first passenger plane to land at LAX. It has been stranded at Calgary, Alberta for several days. Its landing was broadcast on local television.
The inaugural flight to LAX from FCO on June 1, 2008 will be 24 years to the day after the inaugural MXP-LAX flight on June 1, 1984.
I expect that service will be increased to daily in the next several years.
Perhaps by 2010, Alitalia will also resume nonstop service to SFO, always from FCO. This will depend on passenger demand, the world economy, and the availability of more 777s in the Alitalia fleet (which currently number ONLY 10!)
Air France has made it known that it intends to "renovate" the Alitalia long-range fleet (replacing all 767-300s over the next few years), almost certainly with more 777s and the new 787s.
The Italian Government must still "bless" the selection of Air France by the Alitalia Board of Directors. There are very strong sentiments (primarily among the communist labor unions and some left-wing politicians) against this selection. However, Alitalia pilots are adamantly in favor of Air France, and have threatened to "shut down" the airline if the Government does not approve the selection.
The Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Prodi (and most other moderates in his government), is known to be favorable to Air France as the only viable choice from a market perspective.
From the numbers below (excerpted from the Alitalia corporate website), you can see that Alitalia is woefully lacking in long-range aircraft: there are ONLY 23 long-range passenger aircraft in the Alitalia fleet:
La flotta di Alitalia Con un totale di 179 aeromobili:
Boeing 777: 10
Boeing 767: 13
(MD11 All Cargo: 5)
TOTALE LUNGO RAGGIO: 28 (of which 23 passenger aircraft)
(Additionally, there are 151 short and medium-range aircraft in the Alitalia fleet, of which 141 jets and 10 turboprops)
BY CONTRAST, Air France has 96, and KLM has 56, long-range passenger aircraft in their respective fleets.
Even Swiss has 22 long range passenger aircraft in its fleet, essentially tied with Alitalia!!!
Consequently, it is no surprise that Alitalia has very limited capacity to expand its intercontinental network to include cities such as LAX, SFO and others.
I have heard that Alitalia has owned the rights to run a LAX-FCO non-stop flight for years. Maybe the infusion of some Air France bucks will make it easier for Alitalia to start up this service.
Based on what GAC had to say about the number ot Inter-atlantic capable planes that Alitialia has, the only way more LAX-FCO flights that could be possible were if Air France flew the route after buying up the rights to route with Alitalia.
It takes years to get new palnes delivered after ordering them.
Posts: 3743 | Location: St Paul, MN | Registered: 10 February 2006
On the Alitalia website, you can now view seat availability (and select a seat) for the nonstop LAX/FCO/LAX flights. Click on the seat icon for the date and flight selected to bring up the seating chart.
The AZ 777-200 aircraft has 249 seats in economy and 42 seats in business class (you can't tell from the chart on the internet; you must look at the chart in the Alitalia paper timetables). Business class is six across (in pairs); economy is nine across (3X3).
Curiously, the Alitalia marketing department has not yet gone to the trouble of preparing a press release to advertise this new and important service (the first nonstop between LAX and FCO in history). The December 26, 2007 posting on this site is in fact the first such announcement, in English or in Italian, apart from some postings on specialized airline websites.
The Alitalia marketing department has finally posted a news release concerning the new nonstop service from FCO to LAX, three weeks after my original posting above. Here it is:
Not to sound too critical of Alitalia, but I would have embellished the release somewhat by noting that the nonstop service is exclusive and is operated with a 777-200ER aircraft. I would also have given information about Alitalia connecting flights to Naples, Florence, Bari, Palermo, Catania, etc., as well as to Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel and the Middle East.
In particular, this new service to LAX provides the fastest possible connections between southern California and Sicily, a marketing point worthy of mention.
WILL ALITALIA FLIGHT 620 FCO/LAX EVER GET OFF THE GROUND?
We're slightly more than five weeks away from June 1, when Alitalia Flight 620 is supposed to make its maiden flight from FCO to LAX, nonstop. But will this flight ever get off the tarmack at FCO?
Yesterday's emergecy loan of 300 million Euros from the outgoing Center-Left Italian Government (justified on the basis of "safeguarding the public order") will stave off bankruptcy for Alitalia for perhaps 3 more months. But will a definitive solution to the perennial "problem" of Alitalia be found before then?
Will Berlusconi's boasts that Alitalia will be saved by a "consortium of Italian investors" come to pass? Will he be able to pull off what just about everybody thinks is the impossible? Is there a "secret deal" with Vladimir Putin and Russian investors who stand behind him?
The Air France deal is probably dead as a door nail: Mr. Spinetta is not interested in buying Alitalia other than on his terms, which is to make the Italian carrier a vassal of Air France. At the same time, the Air France deal was probably the best that Alitalia could expect under the circumstances.
Will the deepening international recession, the increasing price of oil, the deteriorating Dollar/Euro exchange rate, the accelerating loss of market share, and the continuing labor agitations, spell the death knell for Alitalia?
Let's keep watching the news reports as we approach the magic date of June 1st.
Berlusconi can probably spin the agony out for a while, but realistically Alitalia is unlikely to survive is a standalone entity without continual loans from Italian taxpayers - something that's illegal under EU competition law.
ALITALIA INAUGURAL FLIGHT FCO/LAX STILL HAS PLENTY OF EMPTY SEATS
We're exactly one month away from Alitalia's new inaugural flight between FCO and LAX, and both the westbound and the eastbound flights on Sunday, June 1 have plenty of empty seats.
So .... there is still time to book, assuming that the new service will indeed get off the ground .... and the company will still be around later this year.
In the meantime, newly-elected Prime Minister Berlusconi has threatened to "nationalize" Alitalia (ha! ha!), the Malpensa Airport Authority has sued Alitalia for breach of contract (abandoning many gates), and Alitalia has cross-claimed against the Airport for "damaging its reputation".
This is quite the "cliffhanger" and I am enjoying keeping watch on this topic. Please keep up with the news, guys. Can't wait to see how this turns out........
