Alitalia's seamless transition this week from being a national carrier to a private airline was a ''brilliant'' operation, according to the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The fact that the transition took place without interrupting service, observed Giovanni Bisignani, ''was a great success. At such a difficult time like this a similar operation appeared almost impossible''.
Alitalia made the transition during the night between January 12 and 13. The six-seven hour lull in its flight schedule from one day to the next proved sufficient for Italy's civil aviation authority ENAC to certify the new airline's fleet and issue it an operating license.
Turning his attention to the criticism and doubts about Alitalia voiced by IATA and several of its members, Bisignani said ''we need to look forward now, the past is the past''.
In regard to the new carrier's future, Bisignani, who was Alitalia's CEO in the late 1980s and early '90s, said the biggest problem ''will be the situation in Milan,'' which has two commercial airports, Linate and the newer Malpensa.
According to Bisignani, ''the problems in Milan are the same as when I was Alitalia CEO. Linate should be limited to running a shuttle service between Milan and Rome, while Malpensa needs a quick connection into the city and cannot really hope to be a hub''.
Bisignani made his remarks during a visit to Rome's Fiumicino airport where he met with Alitalia CEO Rocco Sabelli.
Alitalia's new management has decided to make Rome its single hub, as opposed to the old management which tried to develop a two-hub system with Rome and Milan.
