MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's new ITA Airways aims to join an airlines alliance next year, the chairman of Alitalia's successor said on Friday.
Alitalia, which operated its last flight on Thursday, was part of the SkyTeam alliance with Air France, KLM and Delta. But ITA will have to negotiate a pact from scratch and could choose to team up with others, such as Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners.
"I am open to negotiate with everyone," Chairman Alfredo Altavilla said at a digital event to mark the debut of the airline. "ITA has been created to be a strategic element in one of the large networks that already exist in the sector."
"ITA can't be a stand-alone carrier forever," Altavilla said, although he said the new carrier would not sacrifice its Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate airport hubs to please a future partner.
ITA started flying in place of Alitalia on Friday, after the airline that was once a symbol of Italian style and glamour was finally grounded after years of financial losses and failed rescue attempts.
Despite buying the brand from Alitalia, the carrier will fly jets with a new blue livery with traditional green-white-red from the Italian flag as details.