Air Alps

Infobox Airline
airline = Air Alps

logo_size = 175
fleet_size = 7
destinations = 10
IATA = A6
ICAO = LPV
callsign = AIR ALPS
parent =
company_slogan = "Discover the sky"
founded = 1998
headquarters = Innsbruck, Austria
key_people =
hubs = Innsbruck Airport
secondary_hubs = Malpensa International Airport
Leonardo da Vinci International Airport
focus_cities =
frequent_flyer =
lounge =
alliance =
website = http://www.airalps.at/

Air Alps (Air Alps Aviation) is an airline based in Innsbruck, Austria. It is an independent regional airline serving 10 cities in Italy from Milan and Rome, international services from Milan, as well as charter services. Alitalia codeshares on all Air Alps services. Its main base is Innsbruck Airport, with hubs at Malpensa International Airport, Milan and Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, Romecite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | page= 52 | date= 2007-03-27] .

History

The airline was established in 1998 and started operations on 28 March 1999 with two Dornier 328 aircraft, acquiring three more in 2000 and one more in each year of operation. It was founded by Air Engadina who owned 49% of the airline, the other 51% being owned by Dietmar Leitgeb, president and chief executive of Air Engadina. In 2001, a group of investors from the Italian province of Bolzano-Bozen acquired the majority stake. In October 2005 a codeshare agreement with Alitalia on the entire Air Alps network was established. The airline is owned by Alpen-Air consortium (89.82%), Sudtiroler Transportstrukturen (7%), and Beteiligungs-und Finanzierungs (3.18%).

In 2004 Armin Partl became CEO of Air Alps with Sabine Mertens being Director of Operations. The Manager Network Development Koen Hertoge was mainly responsible for the integration into the Alitalia Network for both national and international routes, which eventually helped Air Alps Aviation to be back in profit.

The company is currently (November 2007) employing 160 people, 60 in Innsbruck and 100 in Italy.

Destinations

Air Alps currently operates services as follows (at December 2007; most flights are in code-share with Alitalia):

*Milan to Ancona, Perugia
*Rome to Bolzano and Rimini
*Foggia to Rome, Palermo and Malpensa

They also operate seasonal flights and charter flights from Bolzano, Parma, Rimini, Ancona to Sardinia and destinations in Germany (Dortmund, Hanover)

Fleet

The Air Alps fleet consists of the following aircraft (at 23 June 2008):

*7 Dornier 328-110

External links

* [http://www.airalps.at/ Air Alps]
* [http://www.ch-aviation.ch/aircraft.php?search=set&airline=A6&al_op=1 Air Alps Fleet]

References