Air Italy reportedly lost just over €164 million in 2018; nearly three times the that it reported in the previous year when the Sardinia-based airline was still known as Meridiana, reported Paddle Your Own Kanoo.

Since rebranding to much fanfare as Air Italy and launching a new business strategy the carrier has made less revenue, flown fewer miles and carried fewer passengers according to documents seen by the paper.

The controversial airline, who's​ parent company is 49% owned by Qatar Airways, has blamed the sharp rise in losses on costs associated with its relaunch, a number of failed long-haul routes, and the grounding of the Boeing 737MAX – of which Air Italy currently has three in its fleet.

Qatar Airways closed its purchase for nearly half of Air Italy’s parent company in 2017 and the airline from what was predominantly a little known regional and charter carrier in early 2018. Air Italy almost immediately caused controversy with critics saying it was simply a proxy for Qatar Airways and that it would put American jobs at risks with aggressive expansion plans for the U.S. .

Qatar Airways a lot in Air Italy and has leased out five of its older Airbus A330 long-haul aircraft and Boeing 737’s short-haul aircraft to aid in Air Italy’s transformation.

The number of flying hours by Air Italy’s aircraft have dropped from 50,592 to 42,283, while the number of passengers carried has fallen from 2.44 million to 1.91 million.  A decision to drop charter flights has resulted in a €65 million drop in revenues.