Emma Kelly/LONDON
British Airways is to launch regional airline services in southern Italy on 11 July in a franchise operation with the recently created carrier National Jets Italia.
National Jets Italia, which becomes the UK airline's eleventh franchise operator, will initially operate a fleet of two British Aerospace 146-300s.
BA has been working on the Italian franchise operation for some time with Warren Seymour, the former chief executive of Australia's National Jet Systems (NJS). The partners originally aimed to launch services in early 1999, but attempts to establish the airline were thwarted by a failure to secure an air operator's certificate (AOC) after a botched attempt to acquire Irish airline CityJet. It is now believed the AOC will be provided by UK charter carrier British World Airlines.
National Jets Italia, which was due to announce details of its operation on 19 June, will launch services with eight times daily connections between Rome Fiumicino and Palermo, Sicily, with these frequencies quickly rising to 16 daily, says BA.
Eight times daily Rome-Catania services will follow, with additional routes in southern Italy to be introduced as the fleet increases, it adds. The airline will initially operate two former UNI Air of Taiwan BAe 146-300s, which have been taken on operating lease from Capital Bank and which have already undergone reconfiguration by BAE Systems. National Jets Italia's original plans called for a fleet of five ex-UNI Air 146-300s.
The ownership of National Jets Italia is unclear, with a considerable chunk believed to have been taken by Italian interests.
BA will not be taking a financial stake in its latest franchisee from its launch, but the carrier does not discount the possibility of future ownership - as it did with existing franchisees, including CityFlyer Express and Brymon Airways.
BA's interest in Italy stems from a perceived gap in the Italian market, with Alitalia focusing largely on operations from Milan and distracted by privatisation and alliance problems .
The development culminates a period of contrasting fortunes for BA in Europe. The UK carrier recently sold its interest in loss making French subsidiary Air Liberté, but appears to have turned the corner in Germany where its wholly owned subsidiary Deutsche BA made its first-ever operating profit in the six months to September 1999. It fell back into the red for the full-year thanks to higher fuel costs and the strength of the dollar against the euro.
Additional reporting by Max Kingsley-Jones.
Source: Flight International
