Air Italy has unveiled its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 in the airline's new livery, the first of 20 MAX aircraft that will join the fleet over the next three years.
Air Italy unveiled its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 in the airline's new livery at the Boeing Everett Delivery Centre in Seattle.
The aircraft, the first of around 50 new aircraft to be added to the Air Italy fleet by 2022, is the first of 20 brand new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that will join the airline over the next three years.
Air Italy, formerly Meridiana, is an Italian airline owned by AQA Holding (51% Alisarda, 49% Qatar Airways), with its headquarters in Olbia, Sardinia. Qatar Airways acquired its 49% stake in 2017. The rebranded carrier — which Qatar hopes to transform into the country's leading airline in place of struggling Alitalia — was officially launched on 19th February.
The new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, featuring Business Class cabins, will replace Air Italy’s existing Boeing 737NGs. The fleet currently comprises eight Boeing 737 NGs and three Boeing 767-300s.
The carrier is also scheduled to receive five Airbus A330-200 aircraft this year from the Qatar Airways’ fleet, prior to these being further replaced by Boeing 787-8s.
The Air Italy network will steadily expand, with new long-range routes from Milan to New York, Miami, Bangkok and Mumbai already announced. Short-haul routes connecting Milan to Rome, Naples, Palermo and Olbia have recently been inaugurated.
Further plans include strengthening the short-range network to improve connectivity and launching the first long-range destination from Rome Fiumicino in 2019. Air Italy aims to fly more than 50 year-round routes by 2022.