Air Alps Information & Air Alps Links at HealthHaven.com

Air Alps
Founded	1998
Hubs	Innsbruck Airport
Secondary hubs	Malpensa Airport; Leonardo da Vinci Airport
Fleet size	5
Destinations	7
Company slogan	Discover the sky
Headquarters	Innsbruck, Austria
Key people
Website	http://www.airalps.at/

Not to be confused with Air Alpes.

Air Alps (Air Alps Aviation) is an airline based in Innsbruck, Austria. It is an independent regional airline serving 10 cities in Italy from Milan and Rome, international services from Milan, as well as charter services. Alitalia codeshares on all Air Alps services. Its main base is Innsbruck Airport, with hubs at Malpensa Airport, Milan and Leonardo da Vinci Airport, Rome^[1].

[edit] History

The airline was established in 1998 and started operations on 28 March 1999 with two Dornier 328 aircraft, acquiring three more in 2000 and one more in each year of operation. It was founded by Air Engadina who owned 49% of the airline, the other 51% being owned by Dietmar Leitgeb, president and chief executive of Air Engadina. In 2001, a group of investors from the Italian province of Bolzano-Bozen acquired the majority stake. In October 2005 a codeshare agreement with Alitalia on the entire Air Alps network was established. The airline is owned by Alpen-Air consortium (89.82%), Sudtiroler Transportstrukturen (7%), and Beteiligungs-und Finanzierungs (3.18%)^[1].

In 2004 Armin Partl became CEO of Air Alps with Sabine Mertens being Director of Operations. The Manager Network Development Koen Hertoge was mainly responsible for the integration into the Alitalia Network for both national and international routes, which eventually helped Air Alps Aviation to be back in profit.

The company is currently (November 2007) employing 160 people, 60 in Innsbruck and 100 in Italy.