By Luis Jaime Acosta
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Italy-based airline Aeroitalia will operate routes outside Europe from November, its non-executive president said on Monday.
German Efromovich, a businessman who previously held a stake in Colombian carrier Avianca, said Aeroitalia had begun charter flights with two Boeing 737 planes and planned to add another six aircraft mid-year.
Sales for commercial flights will begin in November, as the airline adds destinations within Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, Colombian-Brazilian Efromovich said in a video call.
Specific destinations have not yet been confirmed, however.
The airline plans to end 2022 with 10 planes in operation and sometime in 2023 add routes between Rome and Latin America, he said.
Its capital is being put up by French banker Marc Bourgade, Efromovich said, without giving figures.
Bourgade’s control of Argentina’s Avian airline will facilitate Aeroitalia’s future connections, Efromovich said, adding that stability in ticket prices was aiding airlines’ post-COVID recovery despite high gasoline prices.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; editing by John Stonestreet)
