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Meridiana Fly S.p.A., operating as Meridiana (formerly named ''Meridiana S.p.A.''), was a privately owned
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
headquartered in
Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...
with its main base at
Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto di Olbia-Costa Smeralda) is an airport in Olbia, Sardinia. It was the primary operating base for Italian airline Air Italy whose headquarters were located at the airport. It mostly handles ...
. It operated scheduled and charter flights to domestic, European and intercontinental destinations from several Italian bases. Some of its operations were carried out by the old Air Italy under the Meridiana brand. It was owned by
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netwo ...
through AQA Holding (49%) and Alisarda S.p.A. (51%), who rebranded the airline as the new Air Italy effective 1 March 2018.


History


Early years

The company was set up with the name of Alisarda on 29 March 1963 by Aga Khan Prince Karīm al-Hussaynī with the aim of promoting tourism in Sardinia. Scheduled flights commenced in 1964. On 3 May 1991 in an Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting, the name of the company was changed to Meridiana S.p.A., and a new logo was created. These changes were made to reflect the expansion of the company's operations to Europe.


Merger with Eurofly to create Meridiana fly

In December 2006, Meridiana acquired the majority package of the airline company
Eurofly Eurofly was a privately owned airline based in Milan, Italy. Listed on MTA Stock Exchange and controlled by Meridiana, it was Italy's leading carrier in the leisure flights market and mainly operated international, medium to long haul, point-t ...
, with a 29,95% share. During the year, further important investments were made aiming to develop Meridiana, which also closed 2006 with the historical record of 4,6 million passengers carried with an approximate 15% increase compared to 2005. At the end of February 2010, Meridiana fly, the second-largest carrier in Italy, was created by the merger of Eurofly, a company specialized in long-haul charter flights to holiday destinations, and Meridiana, a scheduled operator of national and European flights, with the primary objective of connecting the main Italian airports with Sardinia and Sicily.


Meridiana's acquisition of Air Italy

In October 2011, Meridiana fly completely acquired Air Italy, an Italian charter airline. On 16 January 2013, the Board of Directors of Meridiana S.p.A. acknowledged the agreement for the purchase by Meridiana S.p.A. of all the Meridiana fly ordinary shares held by the former shareholders of Air Italy Holding S.r.l. Today the group is run by Meridiana S.p.A. Holding, which controls 89% of Meridiana fly including 100% of Air Italy; the remaining part is quoted to the Milan Stock Exchange but a
tender offer In corporate finance, a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation (usually announced in a newspaper advertisement) by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corp ...
was recently launched to delist the company.


Redevelopment into the new Meridiana

In April 2013, when the Air Italy merger was completed, Meridiana Fly returned to its former, shorter name, ''Meridiana''. On 16 May, it launched the new frequent-flyer program Meridiana Club in partnership with
Avios International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A., Trade name, trading as International Airlines Group and usually shortened to IAG, is an Anglo-Spanish Multinational corporation, multinational airline holding company with its registered office in ...
. In mid-2013, Meridiana offered national and international scheduled flights from the main Italian airports to Sardinia (Olbia, Alghero, and Cagliari), Sicily and Naples as well as holiday destinations such as the Canary Islands, Greece, and the Red Sea. It also serviced the long-haul destinations of the Maldives, Mauritius, Kenya, Zanzibar, Santo Domingo, and Brazil mainly from Milan Malpensa and/or Rome Fiumicino. In 2014, the airline continued to reposition its brand by launching international flights to Moscow Domodedovo, London Gatwick, Kiev, Tel Aviv and Nice from Naples and to Brussels, Geneva, London Gatwick, Tel Aviv, Nice, Hamburg, Paris CDG, Moscow Domodedovo and Kiev from Olbia; reconfirming its leadership in Sardinia and its focus on Naples, Catania, Milan Linate and Verona airport for domestic Italian flights. Since 18 November 2014 Meridiana Club frequent flyers have been able to earn Avios points on
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
and from 23 March 2015 on
Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
. In December 2014, Meridiana retired its last
Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...
aircraft, two A320-200s, to pursue the aim of operating an all
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
fleet together with Air Italy.


Meridiana ownership under AQA Holding

On 2 September 2017 it was announced that
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netwo ...
had bought 49% of AQA Holding, the new shareholder of Meridiana. On 7 November 2017 it was announced that Qatar Airways would merge Air Italy with the current Meridiana subsidiary under the Meridiana AOC. In December 2017, Meridiana announced a restructuring of its route network. While all routes from Milan-Linate except the services to its base in Olbia will be terminated, Meridiana will start year-round long-haul services from Milan-Malpensa to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
using Airbus A330-200 aircraft inherited from Qatar Airways. Meridiana further announced that it would become the first Italian airline to take delivery of
Boeing 737 MAX 8 The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), a division of American company Boeing. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) and competes with th ...
s. It was also reported that new full-flat business class seats and in-flight Wi-fi would be installed on the new Airbus A330s to be received from Qatar Airways. In February 2018, Meridiana rebranded as Air Italy and announced a plan to expand its fleet and destinations to become Italy's flagship carrier. Air Italy ceased operations in early 2020.


Corporate affairs


Head Offices

Meridiana's head offices are located at
Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto di Olbia-Costa Smeralda) is an airport in Olbia, Sardinia. It was the primary operating base for Italian airline Air Italy whose headquarters were located at the airport. It mostly handles ...
in
Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...
, Italy.


AQA Holding

AQA Holding is the parent company of Meridiana, which was founded on 2 September 2017 after
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netwo ...
purchased a 49% stake in Meridiana, with Alisarda keeping the 51% stake that it previously owned, which subsequently created the new holding company.


Subsidiaries

Meridiana currently has three subsidiaries. One subsidiary Meridian owns is Meridiana Maintenance S.p.A. (operated as Meridiana Maintenance). The airline maintenance company was founded after Meridiana merged with
eurofly Eurofly was a privately owned airline based in Milan, Italy. Listed on MTA Stock Exchange and controlled by Meridiana, it was Italy's leading carrier in the leisure flights market and mainly operated international, medium to long haul, point-t ...
(another Italian airline). Their hangar is located at
Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto di Olbia-Costa Smeralda) is an airport in Olbia, Sardinia. It was the primary operating base for Italian airline Air Italy whose headquarters were located at the airport. It mostly handles ...
in Olbia, Italy next to the Meridiana Head Offices. Wokita S.i.r (operated as Wokita) is another subsidiary Meridiana owns. Wokita is a tour operator that offers a wide and extensive range of tourism products such as package tours, flights, hotels, and resorts in seaside areas, yachting, and activity holidays since 2006. Since April 2013 Meridiana owns Air Italy (2005–2018) and operates on behalf of Meridiana.


Destinations


Codeshare agreements

Meridiana codeshared with the following airlines: *
Air Malta Air Malta plc (stylized as airmalta) is the flag carrier airline of Malta, with its headquarters in Luqa and its hub at Malta International Airport. It operates services to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. History ...
*
Air Moldova Air Moldova is the national airline of Moldova headquartered in Chișinău. It mainly operates scheduled and charter services to destinations within Europe from its base at Chișinău International Airport. History The roots of Moldavian civil ...
* Blue Air *
Blue Panorama Airlines Blue Panorama Airlines S.p.A. was an Italian airline headquartered in Fiumicino operating scheduled and charter flights mostly to domestic and international leisure destinations. As of late 2021, the airline was in the process to change its bran ...
*
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
*
Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
*
S7 Airlines S7 Airlines, legally JSC Siberia Airlines (russian: АО «Авиакомпания "Сибирь"», "АО Aviakompania Sibir"), is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, with offices in Moscow. As of 2008, it was Russia's ...


Fleet


Current fleet

At the time of the merger, the Meridiana fleet consisted of the following aircraft:


Fleet development

In April 2017, it was announced that, due to
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netwo ...
purchasing a stake in the airline, the airline is to complete a fleet modernization with 20
Boeing 737 MAX 8 The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), a division of American company Boeing. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) and competes with th ...
to be delivered from the second quarter of 2018, taken from Qatar's orders from
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
. In October 2017, it was announced that the airline would replace its long-haul fleet with new aircraft transferred from Qatar Airways' new orders. It was announced that the airline would operate a mix of
Boeing 787 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
and
Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
. The fleet development plan was later Transferred to Air Italy.


Historical fleet

Meridiana previously operated the following aircraft types:


See also

*
Transport in Italy Italy has a well developed transport infrastructure. The Italian rail network is extensive, especially in the north, and it includes a high-speed rail network that joins the major cities of Italy from Naples through northern cities such as Mila ...
*
List of companies of Italy Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth largest in the world. As an advanced economy the country also has the sixth worldwide national wealth and it is ranked third ...


References


External links

* * Meridiana o
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{{IATA members, europe Airlines established in 1963 Airlines disestablished in 2018 Defunct airlines of Italy Olbia Transport in Sardinia Italian brands AQA Holding S.p.A.