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Day: 15 October 2021

Italy's new national airline to serve French Riviera

by: Cassandra Tanti
15/10/2021

New state-owned carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) has officially taken over from Alitalia, permanently grounding the 75-year-old airline after years of financial losses and failed rescue attempts.
Once a symbol of Italian style and glamour, Alitalia, founded in 1946, has passed through a dizzying succession of restructurings and changes of ownership. The Italian government has run to its rescue many times, spending more than €8 billion in the last three years alone.
The national airline made its final voyage Thursday night with a flight from Rome to Cagliari, making way for the country’s new national carrier, ITA.
The downsized ITA undertook its maiden voyage Friday morning with a flight from Milan to the southern city of Bari. It currently has a fleet of 52 planes, set to rise to 105 by the end of 2025.
The carrier will initially serve 44 destinations including Nice Côte d’Azur airport, with this number set to rise to 74 by 2025.
In addition to key airports such as London-Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle, ITA will serve more than a dozen Italian cities.
The company has also begun selling tickets for transatlantic destinations in the US, to launch over the coming months.
On the eve of its launch, ITA bought the Alitalia brand and naming rights for €90 million, down from the original €290 million asking price. It means that the state-backed ITA will be allowed to use its predecessor’s identity, including website domain, brand, green-and-white livery and uniforms, and the permanent right to use the Alitalia name.
The move to keep ITA separate from its predecessor is to ensure it would not be liable for paying back billions of euros that the old carrier had received in state aid.
 
 
Photo by Miguel Ángel Sanz on Unsplash
 
 
 

Boutsen Aviation celebrates 400th aircraft sold

by: Cassandra Tanti
15/10/2021

Monaco-based Boutsen Aviation has reached a significant milestone, sealing a symbolic deal marking the 400th aircraft sold to date – a stunning Dassault Falcon 7X.
Now off to France, this heavy jet is the 37th Falcon sold by Boutsen Aviation and the 17th Falcon 7X. “It’s especially pleasing that the 400th transaction is a Dassault tri-jet destined for a prestigious French client and its esteemed partners,” said Dominique Trinquet, President of Boutsen Aviation.
The majority of Boutsen Aviation’s 400 transactions have been carried out worldwide over the last few years, so this French sale marks a return to the roots for the company. The milestone is the result of 24 years of hard work, during which Boutsen Aviation has seen its reputation grow and its relationships with industry partners strengthen.
“It began with a dream in 1997 and we have so much to be thankful for as we celebrate our 400th aircraft sold today,” said Chairman and Founder Thierry Boutsen. “We owe a huge thanks to all our customers, partners and friends who have trusted us and helped make it possible for us to reach such a milestone. I would also like to thank every member of our team, their passion for performance is just exceptional. We are now highly anticipating when we will get to celebrate the next one!”
Only three years ago, the company celebrated its 350th aircraft sold, so it is testament to Boutsen Aviation for hitting this new milestone, especially during these uncertain times. The company says it has managed to overcome several downturns in 24 years of business thanks to the combined efforts of the whole team.
“We are proud of it, but it’s not a question of numbers, it’s about getting the most out of every transaction we have overseen for over 20 years,” said Mr. Trinquet. “Our primary role is to ensure that each transaction closes smoothly for the satisfaction of all parties. This requires a great deal of experience, a mastery of all the different aspects of a transaction, whether it is legal, technical, operational, compliance… and that’s not forgetting the human factors.
“This is what we have developed with the Boutsen Aviation team over the years. The experience we have acquired allows us to overcome each and every obstacle of a transaction (and there are many) so that at some point, as if by magic, a button is pressed to make a new owner happy as well as the seller.”
 
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Interview: Flying high with Thierry Boutsen

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Photo of Dominique Trinquet and Thierry Boutsen provided. By Monaco Life with press release.
 
 
 

Albert I: a Prince of many facets

by: Stephanie Horsman
15/10/2021

A new exhibition, ‘Exceptional Albert I’, at the Galerie des Pêcheurs is giving the public a glimpse into the private life of the first 20th century prince of Monaco through a series of intimate photographs.

Until 29th November, the Galerie des Pêcheurs will be hosting the unique photographic exhibition around the life of the “Navigator Prince”, Prince Albert I, who reigned the Principality from 1889 to 1922.

His love of the sea and his fierce desire to protect it is legendary, as is his innate love of the scientific realm, his humanism and his great love of navigation. But it is less known that Albert I was also a keen photographer, and that he was not afraid of taking to the skies, as depicted in a shot of him as an open-air passenger in an early airplane.

A total of 28 photos showing the Prince’s diverse passions as well as personal windows into his life are on display for all to see, giving a fuller picture of the man behind the throne.

Albert I truly was exceptional in many ways for a man of his time. He would have been right at home in the 21st century as his progressive social, economic and political reforms were forerunners, and his deep appreciation of oceanography, science and exploration was very modern indeed. Additionally, his hands-on approach to his passions and projects gave him a human touch that not many reigning royals had or have had since. Except the current reigning Prince, Albert II.

The event is a kick-off to the upcoming centenary of Prince Albert I’s death in 1922 and was put together by the Archives of the Prince’s Palace, the Audio-visual Institute of Monaco and the Albert I 2022 Commemoration Committee. The opening was attended by Prince Albert II, a ruler who shares many of the same values as his illustrious great-grandfather.

 
 
Photo of Prince Albert opening the ‘Exceptional Albert I’ exhibition by Axel Bastello, Prince’s Palace
 
 
 

Integrating ESG-SRI into the local financial network

by: Stephanie Horsman
15/10/2021

Monaco is pushing ahead with plans to incorporate sustainable finance into the banking and financial institutions of the Principality and will also create a global conference to support its efforts.
Monaco Sustainable Finance is an ambitious initiative created in March 2021 based around three primary objectives: protection of the planet, development of new practices and championing innovation by investing in new technologies.
The third session of the Monaco Sustainable Finance joint working group met on Friday 1st October at the Ministry of State. Minister of Finance and the Economy Jean Castellini chaired the meeting that was held with several representatives of the Monegasque Association for Financial Activities and the Commission for the Control of Financial Activities.
The meeting’s goals were to present the first findings of the ‘ESG – SRI’ questionnaire that several banks and portfolio managers in the Principality responded to over the summer. ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, the criteria to assess the inclusion of sustainable development and long-term issues in companies’ strategy, and SRI stands for Socially Responsible Investment.
“In a globalised economy, the success of both corporate and investment strategies is increasingly dependent on ESG or SRI selection criteria,” said the government when it first created the group. “Incorporating these factors as part of analysis, financial investment and risk management is likely to improve yields, but also to reduce risks, especially systemic risks.”
The meeting found there were “encouraging results” from the questionnaire and agreed they would move forward in 2022 with several plans.
First, they will create a dedicated ESG correspondent within institutions to keep everyone abreast of current policies and plans. They will also extend sustainable finance training to all employees, not limiting it to management. Additionally, they will define the terms of reporting for clients with local institutions, with the hope of a streamlined system that makes it easy for all. Finally, they are looking to organise an international conference in Monaco based around the theme of sustainable finance in order to get input and share ideas with other countries on their handling of this important issue.
 
 

Photo: Kick-off meeting for the Monaco Sustainable Finance initiative, on 19th March by Stéphane Danna/Communication Department

 
 
 

Monaco welcomes four new Ambassadors

by: Stephanie Horsman
15/10/2021

Monaco received new Ambassadors on Thursday from the countries of Madagascar, Gabon, Switzerland and Turkey in a luncheon ceremony held at the Hermitage Hotel.
Minister of External Relations and Cooperation Laurent Anselmi welcomed Olivier Rija Rajohnson, Ambassador of the Republic of Madagascar, Liliane Massala, Ambassador of the Gabonese Republic, Roberto Balzaretti, Ambassador of Switzerland and Refik Ali Onaner, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey, on 14th October.
A lunch was served at the Hermitage Hotel after they met with Prince Albert II to present their Letters of Credence, the formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state.
Olivier Rija Rajohnson has worked for nearly four decades in the private sector in various fields such as banking, fruit export and tourism. He became Permanent Advisor to the Prime Minister of Madagascar at the end of the 1980s, then he was Minister of Water and Forests from 1997 to 2002. Afterward, he became Chief of Staff to the President from 2011 to 2014. In 2020, he was appointed Ambassador and accredited to France as well as to the Holy See.
Liliane Massala worked for the economic and social development of Gabon by creating in particular the Franco-American Academy of Management, the International Institute of Advanced Education and Training for Training in Digital Professions and the Christine Bahati Foundation for the Well-being, Health and Education of Young People and Women. From 1987 to 2012, she held the positions of Advisor and Deputy Director in the Cabinet of the President of the Gabonese Republic, before being appointed Secretary General of several Ministries from 2012 to 2020. Appointed Ambassador in 2020, she is also Permanent Representative to of the International Organisation of La Francophonie.
Joining the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in 1991, Roberto Balzaretti held several positions there before being appointed Secretary General in 2008 and then Jurisconsult. At the same time, he headed the Swiss Mission to the European Union from 2012 to 2016 and was appointed in 2018 Director of European Affairs and coordinator of all negotiations with the European Union for his country.
Refik Ali Onaner worked in several Turkish Departments and Ministries before taking up the post of Counsellor to the Permanent Delegation of Turkey to the United Nations Office in Geneva from 2006 to 2010. He continued his career at the Turkish Embassy in Paris, again as Counsellor then becoming Minister-Counsellor from 2012 to 2017. He then returned to Turkey and was appointed Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ankara. Appointed Ambassador in 2019, he was first accredited to Tunisia before coming to Monaco.
 
 
Photo by Michael Alessi, Government Communication Department