4/07/1997: Alitalia’s ‘Baci Perugina’ Boeing 747

[In The News]

DALLAS – Today in Aviation, Alitalia (AZ) unveiled its ‘Baci Perugina’ Boeing 747-200GE at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) in the year 1997.

The entire fuselage of one of AZ’s Boeing 747s was painted in a blue livery to celebrate the Italian praline chocolate brand. The painting of the aircraft required 523 kg of paint, and 30 technicians worked on it for a total of 2,000 hours.

The stars and the text ‘Baci dall’Italia, Baci da Alitalia’ (Kisses from Italy, Kisses from Alitalia) were not stickers but hand-drawn instead. The newly-painted aircraft marked the successful commercial collaboration between AZ and Perugina.

Fly High with Bacio ad. Photo: Baci Perugina

‘Baci Perugina’ Operations

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The next day, AZ’s blue Queen of the Skies was placed en route on the FCO-New York JFK, the AZ610, and 611 on its return. Afterward, ‘Baci Perugina’ operated on all the routes served by AZ’s Boeing 747.

The type is mostly now famous as a collectible scale model airplane, as anyone who searches for the ‘Baci Perugina’ Boeing 747 on the web will find out. The type is a nice look back to a year when the airline set up its regional subsidiary, Alitalia Express.

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Featured image: Aldo Bidini (GFDL 1.2 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html or GFDL 1.2 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html), via Wikimedia Commons. Article Source: Alitalia

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