Alitalia makes final flights but ITA buys the Alitalia brand

ROME (AP) — It’s the end of business for Italy’s bankrupt national carrier Alitalia, and an end of an era for Italy. Alitalia is flying it final flight on Thursday, from Cagliari, Sardinia to Rome, before it formally folds. Alitalia operated in the red for more than a decade will be replaced by a new national carrier ITA, or Italy Air Transport, which launches Friday. ITA plans to operate flights to New York, Tokyo, Boston and Miami from Rome, and to Paris, London, Amsterdam and other European destinations from Rome and Milan. But ITA is only planning to hire around a quarter of the estimated 10,000 Alitalia employees.