Analysis of the operational trend of Alitalia in 2001 shows a gradual recovery, evident in the data up to August, and a sharp fall in air transport demand during the last four-month period, following the tragic events of September 11.

The overall capacity offered diminished by 10.2% compared to 2000, mainly due (up to September 11) to rationalization on the intercontinental network. After September 11, there were further cuts and modifications made necessary by the sharp decrease in demand over the whole network. The measures relating to the capacity adopted during the two periods (before and after the attacks) are reflected in a corresponding difference in passengers carried, and consequently in the load factor, which swung from an improvement of 1.5% to a worsening of about 8% (-1.3 percentage points for the entire business year).

The dynamics of the yield were also notably different, with a sharp drop in the period following the attacks, compared to the slight growth previously noted. On the whole, therefore, the yield for the domestic and intercontinental sectors corresponded substantially to the forecast growth, and was affected by recovery actions involving fare increases to offset the rise in fuel prices and the strengthening of the dollar. On the other hand, the trend for the yield in the international sector is wholly unsatisfactory.

Besides not recuperating rising costs, it also suffered a slight decrease compared to 2000. In the broad picture, revenues up to September 11 had shown encouraging growth (more than 4%), despite the reduction in capacity offered and passengers carried; after the attacks, revenues suffered a sharp fall (-20%), leading to a decrease of 4% for the whole business year.

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