By Mauro Orru


ITA Airways reported a much narrowe net loss for last year and a surge in revenue as the Italian carrier formerly known as Alitalia continued to benefit from the recovery in air travel demand following the pandemic.

The airline on Wednesday posted a net loss of 5 million euros ($5.4 million) for last year, compared with a EUR486.2 million loss in 2022. Revenue jumped 58% on year to EUR2.4 billion.

ITA carried about 15 million passengers last year, 47% more than in 2022 thanks to the recovery in air traffic that began in the second half of 2023. The carrier said it was able to increase its market share, particularly in Italy amid fierce competition from low-cost airlines.

ITA Airways started operations in late 2021 after the collapse of Alitalia, which had been embroiled in special bankruptcy proceedings for years even before the spread of Covid-19. Alitalia had struggled to make money amid the rapid expansion of European low-cost carriers, including Ryanair Holdings and Wizz Air Holdings.

The new airline relaunched with less than half of Alitalia's aircraft fleet to initially focus on profitable routes. This year, the airline is adding more aircraft to its fleet as it phases out older planes, bringing its total to 96 aircraft by the end of 2024, with 22 wide-bodies and 74 narrow-bodies.

Meanwhile, the carrier continues to bolster its network. The company plans to launch a new service to Chicago in April as well as to Toronto and Riyadh in May, Accra and Kuwait City in June, Dakar in July and Jeddah in August.

The expansion comes roughly a year after Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa reached an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance to acquire a 41% stake in the carrier, a deal that would grant it access to ITA's growing network of routes to North America and East Asia.

Now, European Union authorities worry that the deal could stifle competition for certain routes in and out of Italy, and have asked Lufthansa and the Italian government to submit proposals to remedy their concerns by April 26.

Both said they would send remedies, with Lufthansa expressing confidence that ITA would become part of its group before the end of the year.


Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-27-24 1123ET