Owned and operated by Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, a startup headed by Ferrari's chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Italo now connects 11 stations in 8 major Italian cities. Fares are very competitive with the price of intercity air travel, and the roomy seats and other amenities set Italo apart from ordinary train service.
This startup is a high-stakes project requiring a combination of careful engineering and careful marketing for long-term success. The Ferrari train captured a lot of media attention in its early months, with reporters and passengers commenting on its cinema car, its free Wi-Fi Internet access and all the other details that contribute to the overall experience. Now it has to capture sufficient market share to reach the breakeven point and become profitable.
Italo is reaching out to passengers in multiple social media: It has more than 225,000 Facebook likes, more than 19,000 Twitter followers and 368,000 video views on YouTube. It's also offering advertisers the opportunity to reach passengers with ads on the side of the train, in snack areas and on the Italo's website.
How will airlines in Italy react to all this railway competition?
