ITA Airways today made official what almost everyone knew was coming: It has become a member of the global SkyTeam airline alliance. Italy’s new flagship airline fills the SkyTeam spot previously held by Alitalia, the Italian carrier ITA replaced.ITA launched operations on Oct. 15 and made its intentions to join SkyTeam known at the time. ITA, which is short for Italia Transporto Aereo, is a more streamlined version of Alitalia. That airline folded earlier this year after years of financial troubles. Alitalia had been in bankruptcy since 2017 and, as TPG reported, was nationalized by the government in 2020.Want more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox? Sign up for our daily newsletter.SkyTeam is one of the top global airline alliances, which includes such airlines as Aeroflot, Air France, China Eastern, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines and others.Frequent flyers will be watching to see how ITA Airways joining SkyTeam affects the ITA Volare program’s status match campaign. However, SkyTeam is not known to have the same perks as compared to Oneworld and Star Alliance.ITA Airways officially opened for business Oct. 15 (Photo by ITA Airways).“For more than 20 years, the Italian market has been a cornerstone of SkyTeam’s European network and no other airline alliance connects Italy better to the world," SkyTeam chairman Walter Cho said, according to Business Traveller. “We warmly welcome ITA Airways’ decision to join our alliance and ensure continuity of service for the millions of customers who choose SkyTeam as their preferred alliance to Italy.Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Also, it was confirmed that members of Alitalia’s Mille Miglia frequent flyer program will be able to earn and redeem miles on selected SkyTeam alliance members’ flights.ITA Airways previously announced that its new loyalty program, Volare, was launching a status-match initiative from 24 different loyalty programs (including Mille Miglia).
