Eurofly

If you stood at the fence in Milan Malpensa between 1990 and 2010, you could hardly miss it: Eurofly, the leisure airline that took Italians to the Red Sea, the Maldives and, in summer, even to New York. Founded with money from Alitalia and Olivetti, later listed on the stock exchange and finally merged into Meridiana, the airline packed an eventful history into just two decades. Today no aircraft flies under this name anymore. On this page you learn where Eurofly came from, which aircraft it used, how to reliably recognize it in old photos and why the name disappeared in 2010.

Eurofly at a glance

Eurofly was an Italian leisure and charter airline based in Milan. It was founded in 1989 and began flight operations in February 1990. There were three shareholders at the start: Alitalia and the technology group Olivetti with 45 percent each, plus San Paolo Finance with 10 percent. The assignment was clearly defined: medium-haul charter flights for tour operators.

The core business stayed the same throughout: Eurofly flew for tour operators and on its own account to holiday destinations, mainly on medium-haul routes around the Mediterranean and on long-haul routes to the Indian Ocean. Seasonal scheduled flights to North America were added later. That made Eurofly a typical example of what we classify here as a leisure airline – an airline that shifts between charter and scheduled service.

Its home and main base was Milan Malpensa. Sources name Bologna and Rome Fiumicino as further bases; at times an aircraft was also stationed in Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea, flying from there to Italian airports.

The history in stages

Twenty years of Eurofly divide neatly into phases – each with its own owners, its own aircraft and its own destinations.

From Alitalia stake to market value

The early years were entirely shaped by Alitalia. According to German-language sources, the state airline expanded its stake over the course of the 1990s and also transferred aircraft to its subsidiary – MD-82s, MD-83s and later A330s came to a good extent from Alitalia’s stock. In the early 2000s the strategy changed: Alitalia parted with its leisure subsidiary. The buyer was Spinnaker, a private equity fund based in Luxembourg, backed by Milan’s Banca Profilo. Sources date the entry to 2002 or 2003; in 2004 Spinnaker also took over the remaining shares.

Under the new owners Eurofly grew considerably. The airline got a new look, expanded long-haul and appeared as a sponsor in football: from the 2002/03 season at Inter Milan and in 2006 as official carrier of the Italian national team at the World Cup in Germany. In December 2005 came the stock market listing in Milan – economically not a success, though, as the share price fell sharply in the first months.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code GJ: appeared in flight numbers, on tickets and on departure boards.
• ICAO code EEZ: used by air traffic control in the flight plan.
• Registration: The aircraft were mostly registered in Italy and carry an I- on the tail end.

On the callsign the sources contradict each other: among others “EFLY”, “E-FLY” and “SIRIOFLY” are given. For your logbook that is no problem – flight number, ICAO code and registration are enough to assign a flight unambiguously to Eurofly.

The fleet through the years

In twenty years Eurofly went through two fleet worlds: first the rear-engine jets from McDonnell Douglas, then the Airbus family. In between came a short chapter with Boeing on long-haul. The following overview summarizes the types that sources name for Eurofly:

Type	Period (approx.)	Spotter note
DC-9-51	1989–2001	Stretched DC-9, the airline’s initial equipment
DC-9-32	1992–1994	Leased briefly
MD-82	until 2005	The workhorse of the early years, partly from Alitalia’s stock
MD-83	1994–2004	Longer-range version, taken over from Alitalia
Boeing 767-300ER	1998–2002	First long-haul aircraft, leased
Boeing 737-400	1999–2000	Single leased aircraft from Pegasus
Airbus A320	2001–2010	Backbone on medium-haul
Airbus A319	2005–2007	Single long-range example, leased
Airbus A330-200	2002–2010	Long-haul, from the Alitalia circle

The periods are approximate values from reference works; individual aircraft also came and went outside these spans. How many aircraft Eurofly operated at the same time varied greatly with the season and the lease contracts. At the time of the 2010 merger, the fleet consisted, according to German-language sources, of nine Airbus A320s and three Airbus A330-200s.

The MD-80 years

In the 1990s Eurofly was mainly an MD-80 airline – fitting for its parent Alitalia, which itself operated a large MD-80 fleet. The slender jets with two rear-mounted engines and a T-tail flew vacationers to the Mediterranean, Spain, Greece and Egypt. How to tell the MD-82 and MD-83 apart is shown on the page for the MD-80 family. Quick spoiler: from the outside that is difficult, and the registration and serial number are the reliable route.

The switch to Airbus

From 2001 Eurofly converted to Airbus. The A320s took over medium-haul, and from 2002 the A330-200s took over long-haul and replaced the leased 767s. That gave Eurofly a fleet from Airbus that was also easier for the crews: the A320 and A330 share a very similar cockpit concept. When you sort old photos, the guides Telling the A320 family apart and A330 or A340? help with identification.

How to recognize Eurofly

The most important feature in any photo is the “Eurofly” titles on the fuselage. In 2004 the airline introduced a new logo that included a large red “E” on the vertical stabilizer – so in photos from the last years the tail is the quickest identifier. Older shots from the MD-80 years show a different design; here it is worth looking at the titles and registration.

After the merger, A320s and A330s kept flying for Meridiana fly. At least some aircraft were still flying in Eurofly colors for a while, as photos from the Meridiana era show. Such transitional paint jobs are typical archive treasures – related material can be found in the post on retro liveries.

Routes: from the Red Sea to New York

Eurofly lived off holiday destinations. On medium-haul, Egypt with its Red Sea coast, Spain and Greece were the focus. Many flights departed from Milan Malpensa, with departures from other Italian airports added, depending on what the tour operators bought seats for.

On long-haul it went mainly to the Indian Ocean. Eurofly at times served the Maldives up to seven times a week, with scheduled flights to Mauritius and, from 2008, to the Seychelles added. Destinations in Africa were also on the program.

The best-known special feature was New York. From 2004 Eurofly offered nonstop scheduled summer flights to New York JFK Airport, among others from Naples and Palermo, and according to other sources also from Milan and Bologna. The routes were aimed not least at travelers from the US with family roots in southern Italy – a market that differed markedly from classic package holidays.

On individual routes Eurofly cooperated by codeshare with Air One and British Airways.

The road to Meridiana fly

At the end of 2006 Spinnaker sold its remaining stake of just under 30 percent to Meridiana, the airline from Olbia. Meridiana chief Giovanni Rossi also took the lead at Eurofly. For Meridiana, until then mainly active on scheduled domestic and European flights, Eurofly brought experience in the leisure and long-haul business. After two capital increases Meridiana held around 46 percent in early 2008.

Phase	Period	What happened
Entry	End of 2006/early 2007	Meridiana takes just under 30 percent and the lead
Expansion	2008	Two capital increases, stake rises to around 46 percent
Merger decision	2009	The merger of the flight operations is decided and announced in November
Meridiana fly	February 28, 2010	Eurofly is now called Meridiana fly, the maintenance operations go into Meridiana Maintenance

Legally, Meridiana’s flight operations were contributed to the listed Eurofly, which then carried the name Meridiana fly. The maintenance units of both airlines formed the new Meridiana Maintenance. For spotters this means: the company Eurofly did not end in bankruptcy but was absorbed into a larger airline. That sets it apart from many other Italian leisure airlines of this period, such as Volare – an overview of the airline die-off of those years is offered by the post on major airline bankruptcies in Europe.

The former Eurofly Airbuses then flew for Meridiana. In 2014 Meridiana gave up the Airbus types and flew afterward with Boeing jets and – until 2017 – with MD-82s. In 2018 Meridiana finally became Air Italy, which ceased flight operations in 2020.

Eurofly in everyday spotting today

You no longer see a Eurofly aircraft in scheduled service today. For your logbook the airline is therefore an archive topic: if you photographed in Malpensa, Bologna or Fiumicino between 1990 and 2010, you have a good chance of finding an MD-82, an A320 or an A330 with Eurofly titles on old slides or memory cards. Tips for organizing a photo archive are in the guide Archiving aircraft photos.

Tracing the individual aircraft remains exciting. Many A320s and A330s had a history with other airlines before Eurofly and kept flying with further operators after the Meridiana period. With the registration, or better the serial number, you can trace these paths.

Common mix-ups

• Equating Eurofly and Meridiana – until February 2010 they were two separate airlines with their own codes and bases.
• Taking Eurofly for a low-cost carrier – it was a leisure and charter airline that flew mainly for tour operators.
• Attributing Eurofly A330s to Alitalia – some aircraft came from the Alitalia circle but flew under Eurofly titles and Eurofly codes.
• Confusing Eurofly with Neos or Blue Panorama – Neos and Blue Panorama were competing Italian leisure airlines.
• Logging Meridiana fly as a new airline – it emerged from the renamed Eurofly, into which Meridiana’s flight operations were contributed.

Conclusion

For twenty years Eurofly was a fixture of Italian holiday traffic – founded with Alitalia and Olivetti, grown up under a financial investor, listed on the stock exchange and finally part of Meridiana. The fleet mirrors this development: first MD-80s from the Alitalia circle, then an Airbus fleet of A320s and A330s, with which Eurofly flew as far as New York and the Maldives. The name disappeared in 2010, but the aircraft kept flying.