ROME, Oct 1 — Italy’s new flag carrier ITA, born out of the ashes of long-struggling Alitalia, said Thursday it had signed a deal with Airbus to purchase 28 new aircraft.

They would include 10 for long-haul flights and seven regional jets, the new airline, which is set to start flying on October 15, said in a statement.

ITA has also signed an agreement with Air Lease Corporation to lease a further 31 new generation Airbus aircraft, it said.

"The strategic partnership with Airbus and ALC is crucial for ITA to jump-start our business plan aimed at achieving our targets of a new environmentally friendly fleet with significantly lower operating and leasing costs,” said chief executive Alfredo Altavilla.

Loss-making Alitalia was placed under state administration in 2017, but Italy has struggled to find an investor to take it over. 

The situation was only exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic that grounded airlines worldwide.

Earlier this year, Italy said it had reached an agreement with the European Union for a bailout that creates a new debt-free company to take over some of Alitalia’s assets — ITA.

The board of directors of ITA last month approved a binding offer for 52 of Alitalia’s aircraft, related airport slots and other assets.

Italy provided state loans to Alitalia totalling €1.3 billion (RM6.3 billion) between 2017 and 2019. 

In July, it approved another €700 million for ITA.

Further sums are expected in 2022 and 2023, bringing the total to €1.35 billion. — AFP