Alitalia’s successor ITA Airways is looking for a partner ready to invest in the Italian carrier, Chairman Alfredo Altavilla said on Wednesday, adding that the airline could seal an alliance by June. Speaking at a parliamentary hearing, Altavilla said that the state-owned carrier had already started informal talks with some potential partners, both in Europe and overseas, but did not name any suitors. “We don’t need code sharing or a commercial joint venture. If you put money on the table, you play; if you don’t put money on the table, you can avoid asking for access to the data room,” he said. “We are looking for an equity partnership.” Two sources close to ITA Airways told Reuters that the Italian carrier has been in contact with Germany’s Lufthansa, British Airways and United States-based Delta, adding that formal talks could start by the end of March. A Lufthansa spokesman reiterated that the German carrier was open to the possibility of a partnership with ITA. A Delta representative was not available for comment and British Airways declined to comment. ITA Airways started flying on Oct. 15 with nearly 2,300 employees and a fleet less than half the size of that operated by Alitalia.<br/>
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UK start-up Hans Airways has signed a letter of intent for its first aircraft, an Airbus A330-200, as it bids to launch services this year. The Birmingham-based airline says it signed the letter of intent covering the A330, MSN950, in the first week of January. Cirium fleets data indicates the aircraft has been operated by Air Europa since its entry into service in 2008. Hans Airways intends to operate the aircraft in two-class configuration featuring 24 premium-economy and 275 economy seats. The airline’s CE Satnam Saini says: ”We are delighted to have achieved this very important milestone in our two-year journey. Our scheduled operations centre on the Airbus A330, a popular and spacious long-haul widebody, [which is] excellent for cargo too.” Hans Airways, which plans to operate flights linking Birmingham with secondary cities in India, applied to the UK regulator for an air operator certificate in March 2020.<br/>
Jetstar has resumed flights between Australia and Thailand for the first time since March 2020, when Australia first introduced bans on international travel. On Wednesday, the budget airline restarted services connecting Sydney and Phuket on its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with tri-weekly flights available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Meanwhile, flights from Melbourne resume on Thursday, 13 January, also on the Dreamliner, with twice-weekly services on offer on Thursdays and Sundays. It comes after Jetstar restarted its first low-cost international flights between Melbourne and Singapore on 16 December, and Sydney and Fiji on 17 December. Speaking on the resumption of flights to Thailand, Jetstar CEO Gareth Evans said, “Today is an exciting day for travellers and also for our crew, many of whom used to love operating to Thailand regularly pre-pandemic.”<br/>