ITA launched operations on Oct. 15 and made its intentions to join SkyTeam known at the time. ITA, which is short for Italia Transporto Aereo, is a more streamlined version of Alitalia. That airline folded earlier this year after years of financial troubles. Alitalia had been in bankruptcy since 2017 and, as TPG reported, was nationalized by the government in 2020.
SkyTeam is one of the top global airline alliances, which includes such airlines as Aeroflot, Air France, China Eastern, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines and others.
Frequent flyers will be watching to see how ITA Airways joining SkyTeam affects the ITA Volare program’s status match campaign. However, SkyTeam is not known to have the same perks as compared to Oneworld and Star Alliance.
“For more than 20 years, the Italian market has been a cornerstone of SkyTeam’s European network and no other airline alliance connects Italy better to the world," SkyTeam chairman Walter Cho said, according to Business Traveller. "We warmly welcome ITA Airways’ decision to join our alliance and ensure continuity of service for the millions of customers who choose SkyTeam as their preferred alliance to Italy.
Also, it was confirmed that members of Alitalia's Mille Miglia frequent flyer program will be able to earn and redeem miles on selected SkyTeam alliance members’ flights.
ITA Airways previously announced that its new loyalty program, Volare, was launching a status-match initiative from 24 different loyalty programs (including Mille Miglia).
