Ready for Take Off – Alitalia Launches its New Operation with VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors

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	Ready for take off – Alitalia launches its new operation

with VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors

London 28.08.2009 – It was exactly one year ago that the Italian airline headlined the front pages of newspapers around the world. After the failure of takeover negotia-
tions with Air France/KLM and Lufthansa, the airline, which had been running at a deficit for a long time, had to file for bankruptcy in August last year. However, thanks to start-up aid from the industrial policy program of the Italian government, the new business setup succeeded a few months later under the direction of a syndicate of Italian industrialists.

The new owners have invested on a large scale in the modernization of the fleet. First of all, the short- and medium-range fleet comprising almost 100 McDonnell Douglas MD82 airliners – virtually the trademark of the old Alitalia airline for many years – was successively replaced by modern Airbus A320 aircraft. Once the fleet modernization program is concluded in 2013, Alitalia will possess one of the most modern fleets in Europe.




	A powerful team – For its new start-up, the Italian airline Alitalia puts its trust on state-of-the-art equipment, which is why it has chosen VOLK HFZ 30 NT Hybrid Tow Tractors

Alitalia relies on state-of-the-art equipment for ground handling operations, too. At London/Heathrow Airport where Alitalia not only handles its own flights but also provides ground handling services to various other carriers, the air-
line uses VOLK HFZ 30 NT Hybrid Tow Tractors. The main features of these vehicles include a low-maintenance, modular design and superior performance characteristics: A 20 kW electric motor and a 42 kW Deutz diesel engine keep the vehicles running smoothly. Thanks to this powerful motorization, high towed loads and driving speeds of up to 30 km/h are possible, so that even great distances can be covered swiftly.

Currently this is especially important at London/Heathrow Airport. The opening of the ultra-modern Terminal 5 last year was the starting signal for a series of relocations never seen before in the history of aviation, which were con-
ducted to adapt the historically grown structures of Heathrow Airport to the changed realities of air traffic in the 21st




	The new Alitalia airline offers 4.600 weekly flights to a total of 72 desti- nations

	century. Because tightly-knit aviation alliances are on the rise in aviation today, it was necessary to centralize the airlines of various alliances, which are frequently spread out over several terminals, in their own terminals respectively. As it is not possible for all of the affected airlines to move into their new premises simultaneously for logistical reasons, the bases of the handling companies and the locations of the airlines handled by these companies are often separated by great distances. Therefore some of the routes which have to be travelled during the transition phase are very long. This situation is a big challenge especially for the ground handling services.


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