The Italian airline Meridiana is no more. Starting today, the carrier that’s probably best known for its flights to Sardinia is now called Air Italy. As part of the rebrand, its planes will get a fresh new look with teal-and-purple graphic elements on the tail and clean, all-caps type on the side of planes.

If that shade of purple looks familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen it on Qatar Airways jets. The Gulf airline now owns 49 percent of Air Italy—newly acquired in 2017—and has been instrumental in revamping Meridiana. It’s invested cash—at least “millions” of dollars, according to one report—and planes: Air Italy will acquire at least 20 new jets over the next three years, the airline says, plus at least five wide-body jets from the Qatar Airways fleet. That’s important because Air Italy has big ambitions to become a major rival to Alitalia.

Link: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/air-italy-is-europes-newest-airline?mbid=nl_022318_Daily&CNDID=18935007&spMailingID=12994200&spUserID=MTMzNDc5Njk2ODI5S0&spJobID=1342113333&spReportId=MTM0MjExMzMzMwS2