Budget airlines scoop up Italy routes as Alitalia relaunch stalls

As the launch of a successor to Alitalia drags on, budget carriers Ryanair and Wizz are bulking up on Italy’s domestic routes, grabbing market share from the new carrier before it even takes flight. Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) is the name of the new state-owned airline independent of bankrupt Alitalia which Rome plans to start, but talks with the EC have pushed that back to August at the earliest. Ryanair, Europe’s largest budget airline, is expanding to more than 100 domestic routes this summer from 60 before the pandemic. It could move ahead of Alitalia on its home turf in Q2, according to consulting firm AlixPartners. AlixPartners expects Ryanair’s slice of domestic seats offered to rise to 35% from 32% before the pandemic while Alitalia shrinks to 32% from 41% in the quarter to June 30. Budget players including easyJet could account for up to 67% of domestic flight capacity in the second quarter, AlixPartners said. That’s up from 54% before the pandemic, already well above the European average of around 40%.<br/>