L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2021 L'Italo-Americano A s m a n y o f y o u probably know, after more than 70 years of ser- vice, Alitalia is no more. Its last flight land- ed in Rome at 23,23 on the 15th of October, and it did feel like the end of an era. Around the world, Alitalia was known as one of the last "old-school" airlines, where cabin crew had to know at least two languages besides Italian and uniforms were as sharp and elegant as some- thing you'd see on the cat- walk. Pity that the company itself hadn't been doing too well for years. While a new - we all hope successful - adventure has started already in our skies with ITA Airways, some interesting questions were risen about Alitalia's ulti- mate demise and the reasons behind it. The company did- n't make enough money to sustain itself anymore: as simple as that, but why? Recently, CNN Travel's Julia Buckley offered a very interesting analysis of Alitalia's collapse, one that involves also the introduc- tion and rise in popularity of high-speed trains on routes that used to be Alitalia's pre- rogative. L e t u s t a k e t h e M i l a n - Rome route, for instance, which is traveled daily by thousands of people, espe- cially for work: 2019 data collected and analyzed by F e r r o v i e d e l l o S t a t o , Italy's national railway com- pany, highlighted how the n u m b e r o f p a s s e n g e r s choosing the train instead of the plane has quadrupled in 10 years, going from 1 mil- lion in 2008 (the year high- s p e e d t r a i n s d e b u t e d o n national routes in Italy) to 3 . 6 m i l l i o n i n 2 0 1 8 : t h i s translates in over ⅔ of the people traveling between the capital and Milan preferring high-speed trains to flights. Italians, it seems, truly enjoy their Frecciaroossa. And d o n ' t b e f o o l e d , b e c a u s e tourists do, too, if it's true that the number of visitors taking the train went from 1.8 million in 2008 to 7.3 million in 2018. The most popular journeys? Rome to F l o r e n c e a n d R o m e t o Venice, of course, with the latter once being one of the country's main flight routes. Back to the Milan-Rome c o n n e c t i o n , p e o p l e h a v e good reasons to prefer the train, Buckley continues: to begin with, the trip takes a mere 2 hours and 59 min- utes, which may seem a lot w h e n c o m p a r e d t o t h e 1 hour and 10 minutes of your average flight, but when you look at it closely, it really isn't. First of all, train sta- tions are always in the city c e n t e r , w h i c h m e a n s y o u arrive just where you need; if you flew, it'd take you at least 30 minutes by car from Fiumicino to Rome city cen- ter and Linate, Milan's clos- est airport to town, is at least a 20 minutes drive. Plus, when you take the train, you can show up just 10 minutes before departure, no need to get there 1 hour and ½ in advance, as at the airport. If we do the maths, we end up saving time and stress if we take the train. S o m e m a y a r g u e o u r t r a i n s a r e n ' t k n o w n f o r being especially clean, nor n e w . A n d t h a t ' s w i t h o u t mentioning the fact they are a l w a y s l a t e . L o o k , t h a t ' s true, but not for high-speed trains: Ferrovie dello Stato's Frecce are new, clean, and comfortable, just like a plane a n d - i n c r e d i b l y f o r a n Italian train - they run on time. D i d h i g h - s p e e d t r a i n s t r u l y q u i c k e n t h e e n d o f A l i t a l i a ? A c c o r d i n g t o Francesco Galletti, CEO of political risk consultancy firm Policy Sonar, and fre- q u e n t R o m e - M i l a n t r a i n traveler, the answer is yes, but with extra detrimental i n g r e d i e n t s i n t h e m i x . Galletti explains that, while being an international carri- er, Alitalia was very much focused on internal routes. This is simply explained in one word: tourism. Italians mostly vacation in Italy and foreign visitors tend to opt for internal flights when vis- iting, so that they can see as much of the Belpaese as they can. But while this worked fine for a while, the breaking p o i n t w a s r e a c h e d w h e n competition from low-cost airlines (both nationally and internationally) and high- speed trains came into the equation. Speed, quality of service, convenience, and a plethora o f r o u t e s : b e t w e e n t h e Ferrovie dello Stato's Frecce a n d t h e p r i v a t e N u o v o T r a s p o r t o V i a g g i a t o r i ' s Italo, most of Italy is today c o n n e c t e d b y h i g h - s p e e d trains, whose onboard expe- rience is very similar to that you'd enjoy on a plane: you reserve your place when buy- ing your ticket, there are spe- c i a l l o u n g e s i n o u r m a i n train stations for high-speed, top-tier travelers and you c a n e v e n c o l l e c t f i d e l i t y points and get free trips, just like with any airline. When talking to Buckley, Carlo Barbante, director o f t h e I n s t i t u t e o f P o l a r S c i e n c e a t C a ' F o s c a r i U n i v e r s i t y i n V e n i c e , explained why he prefers t r a v e l i n g t o R o m e b y Frecciarossa: "I like the car- bon footprint first and fore- most, but I like that I can c h e c k i n a f e w m i n u t e s before departure, can walk around easily, and feel very s a f e a n d c o m f o r t a b l e . " Comfort, but also an eye to t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , a s " t h e train is one of the most reli- a b l e w a y s t o r e d u c e y o u r carbon footprint." Last but not least, there is the ageless charm of travel- i n g b y t r a i n : t h e c o u n t r y passing by your eyes fast t h r o u g h t h e w i n d o w , t h e rhythmic lull of the moving carriage cuddling you into a soft slumber, the old-fash- ioned bar car. It may not be t h e s a m e a s f l y i n g a b o v e clouds, but it's a very good alternative, indeed. A Frecciarossa train. According to some, high-speed trains were the last nail in Alitalia's coffin (Photo: Brasilnut/Dreamstime) Why Italians prefer the train and how it meant the end of Alitalia LUCA SIGNORINI NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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