Italy's New Airline Picks Airbus Over Boeing

Long-troubled Italian flag carrier Alitalia will shut down for good at the end of next week, after plunging into bankruptcy (again) in 2017. At that time, the Italian government will launch a new successor airline called Italia Trasporto Aereo.

ITA will start operations with 52 Airbus (OTC: EADSY) aircraft it is taking over from Alitalia. But it plans to replace many of those planes with new jets while also doubling its fleet size by the end of 2025. Last week, ITA picked Airbus as its sole new aircraft supplier in another blow to Boeing's (NYSE: BA) turnaround effort.

In recent months, airline industry experts have generally believed that Airbus had the inside track for winning ITA's business. Since the carrier plans to launch service with Airbus jets inherited from Alitalia, ordering new aircraft from Boeing would force the airline to endure a costly and potentially disruptive fleet transition.

Source Fool.com