Italian startup airline ITA has joined the SkyTeam alliance. The airline will fill the gap left by Alitalia after it ceased operations earlier this month. The change means that SkyTeam customers will continue to avail of seamless connections across Italy. The road to joining an airline alliance can be a long and arduous one. Airlines may need to be formally invited to join the alliance, while usually only well-established airlines are considered.

Even after being accepted, it can take months to years before the membership becomes official. However, the rewards are often worth the effort, given an airline’s status from being an alliance member. Instead of the usual hurdles to be cleared by an airline, ITA seems to have been fast-tracked into the SkyTeam alliance. The alliance today revealed that it had welcomed its latest member.