ITA Airways firms order for A220, A320neo, A330neo

ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) has firmed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for seven A220 regional jets, eleven A320neo Family narrowbodies, and ten A330neo widebodies.

The airline said in a statement it would also pursue A350 lease opportunities, although the type is not included in ITA’s Airbus order.

“Today the strategic partnership with Airbus takes an important step forward with the finalisation of the order we announced last September. In addition to this agreement, possibilities for further collaboration have emerged, in particular regarding technological developments in the aviation sector and digitalisation, where Airbus is the market leader,” Executive President Alfredo Altavilla said.

The Italian flag carrier did not specify a delivery timeline, although in September, it did point to the first quarter of 2022.

In its September announcement, ITA also committed to leasing a further 28 Airbus aircraft, including some A350s. Since then, it has emerged that the carrier would add at least four A350-900s not taken up by Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) in the second quarter of 2022. However, in the new announcement, the carrier did not include any commitments concerning the number of leased aircraft.

ITA said the new Airbus aircraft will complement its existing fleet of eighteen A319-100s, twenty-seven A320-200s, and seven A330-200s, all of which it inherited from predecessor Alitalia (AZ, Rome Fiumicino).