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Alitalia—a combination of the Italian words for “Air Italy” and the Italian flag carrier airline—was formed in September 1946 as Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali at the request of the Italian postwar government. Alitalia was meant from the start to be the Italian flag carrier, and the Italian government held a 48% controlling interest in the airline; British European Airways (BEA), who was to assist the establishment of Alitalia, held another 40%. It did not begin operations until 1947, with a mixed fleet of Fiat G.12s, Savoia-Marchetti SM.95s, and Avro Lancastrians—all converted World War II-era aircraft, with the latter converted from bombers. Despite the distance involved, the Lancastrians were used to immediately establish international routes to South America. More modern equipment arrived in 1949 in the form of dedicated airliners—Douglas DC-3s for domestic routes and DC-4s for international service.
Eleven years after its foundation, Alitalia absorbed its main rival, Italian Airlines (Linee Aeree Italiane), formally taking the name Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane. By this time, it had acquired turboprop Vickers Viscounts for European service, and in 1960 Alitalia entered the jet age by putting into service the Douglas DC-8 and Sud-Aviation Caravelle on the same day. In 1961, BEA relinquished its holdings in Alitalia, with the Italian government acquiring slightly more shares; other shares were acquired by Trans World Airlines (TWA) and Air France, with the remainder going to private investment.
It continued to expand its network and modernize its fleet, which by 1970 included wide-bodied airliners such as the 747. Alitalia also became one of the world’s largest users of the DC-9, as no less than 43 DC-9s were in service with the airline on domestic routes by the 1980s. It adopted its current livery in 1973 and became known in the 1980s as the “Pope’s airline,” as Alitalia usually flew Pope John Paul II on his frequent overseas trips.
By 1987, Alitalia was also known for its financial problems: continued problems with labor unions and Italy’s volatile politics left the airline constantly in debt (it would only turn a profit for one year of the 20th Century, 1998), and the Italian government was forced to increase its share to 83% to keep Alitalia from going bankrupt. A major restructuring occurred that at least lowered the debt for some time. The post 9/11 airline downturn made Alitalia’s ongoing troubles worse, and by 2006, Italy’s government, itself facing financial crisis, could no longer afford to keep loaning billions of euros to Alitalia. Attempts to privatize the airline failed, as did an attempted merger with KLM. Making matters worse, Alitalia was embroiled in several lawsuits from other airlines after a failed attempt to take over Air Europe and its move to the larger Milan-Malpensa airport, which the other airlines felt gave Alitalia too much of an advantage in the southern European market. (It was a moot point: by 2007, Alitalia instead moved most of its operations to Rome.)
In 2008, the Italian government announced that Alitalia was bankrupt and put its shares up for sale. The airline—which never ceased operations—was acquired by Compagnia Aerea Italiana (CAI), which already owned Alitalia’s biggest competitor, the low-cost airline Air One. Under the terms of the agreement, CAI acquired 75% of Alitalia, leaving the other 25% in the hands of Air France-KLM. Air One continued to exist, now taking over some of Alitalia’s domestic routes and acting as a low-cost subsidiary. Alitalia consolidated its fleet and routes, but while it has done better under CAI ownership, it continues to face financial difficulty. Nonetheless, this troubled airline remains the Italian flag carrier and the 19th largest airline in the world.
VoR 2-6-2T No.9 "Prince of Wales", notionally rebuilt at GWR Swindon Works 1923 from a 1902 Davies & Metcalf of Romily loco (No.2 "Prince of Wales", GWR No.1213) but in reality a new engine. The other original loco (No.1 "Edward VII") was scrapped in 1935. The photo shows No.9 in the BR Rail Blue livery with the double arrow symbol - completely incongruous for a narrow gauge steam engine! At Aberystwyth Shed yard, Vale of Rheidol Railway, 06/72. Scanned photograph taken with a Kowa SET.
Agente da CET - Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego - faz o que sabe fazer de melhor no trânsito paulistano. São Paulo, 14 de abril de 2011.
Foto #9 do Projeto 52, com o tema "Flagra"
New to Wallace Arnold as L962NWW in 1994, this Jonckheere Deauville bodied Volvo B10M joined the fleet of Bakers Dolphin in 1999. It was reregistered SIL6715 in 2000 and subsequently reregistered again in 2008 to XLH570.
In 2009 it reverted to L962NWW and joined the fleet of Jones, Bryncethin.
(a few photos taken minutes apart at an intersection in NYC. love this place). and wow, that was a lot of prepositions. ha. :)
It's an honor to be living in the city now and an even cooler experience to be here on september 11th. Never forget.
this was 100% inspired by ms sherbet_tone's slip and jeans duo. also as of late i've been on a dye kick. this is one of the results from the orange batch.
vintage slip - dyed by me - goodwill by the pound
jeans - aeropostale
shoes - payless
necklace - ebay
On Christmas Day I drove to Legionovo, North of Warsaw, to visit my friend Rafal and his family. It took about 3 hours dirve to get there from Lodz. But it was worth the trip and we spent all afternoon chatting on their couch. I got back in LodRajkesh had decided to stay longer in Lodz and to take the train. But me and Jeroen left in the morning to Boleslawiec. We drove through a beautiful landscape of hills, forests and villages.
We made a stop in Wroclaw to visit the old town. The city has a weird history, By the turn of the millenium the city was brought into Poland. After the city was burnt down by the Tatars, it was built up again and became prosperous under Bohemian rule. The Habsburgs, who ruled the city since the 16th Century for the next two centuries, were less tolerant of the Polish and Czech communities, and things got even worse for the Slavic populations after 1741, when Wrocław fell to Prussia and was Germanised. During the 2nd World War, most of the city was destroyed and of more than 600, 000, an estimated 30% died, The Germans who remained were expelled to Germany, and the ruined city was resettled with people from Poland’s prewar eastern regions, mostly from Lviv, which had been ceded to the Soviet Union.
While we walked along the huge Habsburg buildings, we tried to imagine how the authorities must have dealt with this huge operation, giving all these people a new home.
In the evening we drove to Boleslawiec, there we found a strange hotel above a casino and eat pizza in a busy bar under the town hall.
made for dear friends of mine that celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary
blogged: www.crazymomquilts.blogspot.com
Similar to the BR HST, XPT 9 City of Canberra seen at Sydney Central, NSW Australia on 13th February 1990
The last 9-3 Convertible, on display at ANA.
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SaabsUnited, a worldwide community of Saab fans, decided to donate money and together buy the very last Saab that was built, a white 9-3 Aero Griffin. The goal was reached within 9 days.
On the 26'th of May the car was ready for delivery at ANA in Trollhättan, and Saab fans were invited to witness the historic moment.