Alitalia (2nd) (Rome) in a cost-cutting measure following the 49 percent investment by Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi), will terminate 879 ground crew employees, 61 pilots and 54 flight attendants according to Ria Novosti citing a report by the Italian news agency Adnkronos. The cut employees will begin receiving notice on October 31. Previously the beleaguered carrier had already eliminated 700 positions through through resignations or retirements.

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In other news, with these employee cuts, Alitalia will also trim its fleet. According to ch-aviation, partner Airberlin (Berlin) will add 14 ex-Alitalia Airbus A320s as it goes to an all-Airbus fleet.

Finally the carrier issued the details about its winter schedule that started on October 26:

On Sunday, October 26, Alitalia’s schedule for the winter season 2014-2015 took effect with validity through March 28, 2015.

The schedule will operate 3,650 weekly flights on 124 routes (7 more than the 2013-2014 winter season) and 83 destinations, of which 26 in Italy and 57 destinations in 41 other countries worldwide.

The main highlights of Alitalia’s winter network are:

• the launch of new daily direct flights between Rome and Marseilles reinforcing Alitalia’s offer between Italy and France, and new service to Skopje (Macedonia) and Marrakech (Morocco) launched in recent months;

• the launch of a code share agreement between Alitalia and Airberlin, second largest German airline, making available 412 weekly direct Alitalia and Airberlin code shared flights between Italy and Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as many Airberlin domestic flight and Alitalia domestic and international flights;

• the launch of flights replacing Air One Smart Carrier discontinued service between Pisa and Catania and between Milan Malpensa and Tunis;

• the commitment to providing continued and increased service to Albania with a total of 96 flights to Tirana from 8 Italian airports: Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Pisa, Bologna, Bari, Turin, Venice and Genoa;

• an increase in the intercontinental network compared to the winter season 2013-2014 with the addition of frequencies to Brazil (+1 weekly frequency to Rio de Janeiro and +3 frequencies to Sao Paulo) and the increase of frequencies between Rome and Abu Dhabi (+2 weekly frequencies).

• on the international network, compared to 2013-2014, there will be an increase of service between London City and Milan Linate, between Tirana and Rome (+6 weekly frequencies), from Rome to Tel Aviv and Bucharest (+3 weekly frequencies), from Rome to Madrid (+2 frequencies), to Zurich, Toulouse, Athens, Prague (+1 frequency) and from Milan Linate to Frankfurt (+2 weekly);

• on the domestic network, compared to the winter season 2013-2014, increased service from Milan Linate Airport to Pescara (+5 weekly frequencies) and introduction of flights between Rome Fiumicino and Alghero in territorial continuity;

• continued service, in territorial continuity, from Lampedusa to Palermo and Catania and Palermo to Pantelleria and Trapani to provide the citizens of Lampedusa and Pantelleria reliable and consistent connections to Sicily, the rest of Italy and international and intercontinental destinations within Alitalia’s network;

During the month of September 2014, Alitalia transported 2,273,629 passengers, an increase of 0.5% compared to the same period last year.

In addition, the load factor in September reached 82.6% (+3.2 percentage points compared to September 2013).

In September flights to and from Rome Fiumicino hub recorded a load factor of 85.8%, 4.4 percentage points higher than in September 2013. This result is especially guided by the increase by 1% on transit passengers in Rome airport with a load factor increase of 2.9 percentage points on connecting flights to and from Fiumicino.

Early October figures confirm the growth trend: in 22 days of October domestic routes from Rome Fiumicino recorded a +5,8% increase in passengers and an average load factor of 79.4% (+2 percentage points compared to 2013).

Positive results also on the routes served by the Milan Linate airport, in the first 22 days of October, which showed an increase in passengers by 3.8% and an average load factor of 70.2% (+3.4 percentage points compared 2013).

Copyright Photo: Jacques Guillem/AirlinersGallery.com. In April 2014 Alitalia introduced this “Discover Friuli Venezia Giulia” Airbus A319 logo jet in support of the Colibri (Hummingbird). Friuli Venezia Giulia is the only region in Italy where the endangered Hummingbird maintains a natural habitat. A319-112 EI-IMI (msn 1745) taxies past the camera at Paris (Orly).

Alitalia (2nd) Aircraft Slide Show: