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

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

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.

Boeing 747 Baci Perugina in the hangar before being presented to the press. Photo: Alitalia.

‘Baci Perugina’ Operations

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.


Featured Image: Pictured at MIA is AZ Boeing 747 I-DEMF. Photo: Perry Hoppe (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2), via Wikimedia Commons.

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