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Italy aviation news

Qatar Airways Wants a Piece of Italian Air Carrier Meridiana

Meridiana SpA, Italy’s second-largest airline, said a holding company of its owner the Aga Khan has signed a preliminary accord on a partnership with Qatar Airways. The memorandum of understanding between the Gulf carrier and Alisarda lays out conditions for a transaction to be completed in the first half, Meridiana said Thursday. Under European law, Qatar Air could buy as much...

The Italian Air Force has successfully accomplished the F-35’s first transatlantic crossing

The Italian Air Force made the history by successfully accomplishing the F-35’s first transatlantic crossing. On Feb. 5, the first Italian Air Force F-35, the first JSF built outside the U.S., landed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Mariland, at the end of a 7-hour transatlantic flight from Lajes Air Base, in Portugal. The aircraft, dubbed AL-1 and serialled MM7332 departed from Ca...

Piaggio delivers two Avanti Evos to European customers

Piaggio Aerospace has delivered two Avanti Evos to European customers, bringing the total shipments of the twin-engined turboprop in 2015 to three aircraft. WinAir of Germany and an undisclosed customer each took delivery of the seven-seat aircraft in December. The launch customer, Superior Air of Greece, received the first Evo in April – nearly a year after the programme’s launch....

Italian partnership to charter a German Fokker 100 next year

Italy's Travel Before and ST&A Srl tour agencies will charter a Fokker 100 from German ACMI/charter specialist Avanti Air (ATV, Siegen) during the summer 2016 season. Under the terms of the deal, structured by Aeroservizi Air Charter Broker, the Fokker Aircraft (Woensdrecht) will be based out of Salerno in southern Italy with effect from June 2016 through to the end of the high season....

Italian air force to get Tecnam trainers

The Italian air force has selected Tecnam’s P2006T to provide a new pilot training capability, the Capua-based manufacturer has announced. Under the terms of the selection, the company will provide three of the twin-engined type, along with a flight simulator, personnel training and maintenance support services. The latter agreement will run for three years and up to 3,600 flight hours, s...

Alitalia appoints new CEO

Alitalia has appointed Cramer Ball as a member of its board of directors, designated to be appointed as Chief Executive Officer from early March 2016. A shareholders meeting convened today, chaired by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, has appointed Cramer Ball as a member of the board of directors, in substitution of Silvano Cassano who resigned in September, and it has designated him as the next&nb...

Air Seychelles and Alitalia offer more travel options from Italy to Seychelles

 Alitalia, Italy’s leading carrier, and Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, have enhanced their codeshare agreement to provide Italian air travellers with unprecedented access to Seychelles. Beginning December 19, Alitalia will place its “AZ” flight code on three weekly flights operated by Air Seychelles between Paris Charles de Gaulle and...

Air Dolomiti Considers Joining Lufthansa's Eurowings Concept

Lufthansa subsidiary Air Dolomiti is evaluating being a part of the Eurowings concept. The Italian regional carrier provides point-to-point service and operates as a Munich hub feeder for Lufthansa. "We want to change and we are studying being a part of the Lufthansa Wings concept; we will hopefully find a solution before Christmas," CEO Jörg Eberhart told ATW. "This coul...

Piaggio rolls out its MPA in Genoa as it displays a mock-up at show

As a newly-built maritime patrol aircraft rolls (MPA) out of a Genoa factory, Piaggio is showing off the ground demonstrator of the P.180 Avanti-based surveillance type at the Mubadala stand. Piaggio is developing the heftier and heavily modified MPA version of the Avanti in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Autonomous System Investments (ADASI). To accommodate a higher endurance of 8-9h, the MPA...

Traveller takes shape as Tecnam sticks to timeline

Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam is readying its P2012 Traveller for rollout by March 2016, saying it remains on track for a maiden flight of the new 11-seat piston-twin in the second quarter of next year. The airframer took delivery in October of the Traveller’s Lycoming TEO-540-A1A engines, which are now being installed on the first test aircraft. Three prototypes are now being a...

Early Aviation in Italy, As Seen Through the Enraptured Lens of a Futurist Pilot

World War I pilot Fédèle Azari spent the decade after the war making airplane-related art as part of the Italian Futurist movement. These photos, part of a group of Azari's images that have been digitized and made available through the J. Paul Getty Museum's Open Content Program, reflect Azari's vision of aviation as a gorgeous, transcendent art form.&...

ANALYSIS: Piaggio moves from transformation to consolidation

It has been a busy 30 months for Piaggio Aerospace. Since breaking into the defence market with the unveiling of its unmanned P.1HH HammerHead surveillance platform at the 2013 Paris Air Show, the Italian airframer has opened a plush new factory and switched chief executives. It has severed the remaining financial link with the Ferrari family who helped rescue the company in the late 1990s, and be...