New livery and new flight destinations as part of Etihad revamp.

Alitalia has unveiled a toned-down new livery as part of a revamp following a €1.76 billion investment by major Middle Eastern shareholder Etihad Airways.

Alitalia's new look retains the colours of the Italian flag in the tail-cone's stylised "A", however this now goes under the tail, and the green stripe along the fuselage under the windows has been removed.

The Alitalia brand name has also been retained on the fuselage, although it too has been revised slightly. The seats inside the planes have beige and brown leather head-rests while the full-leather seats in business class have been designed by Italy's Poltrona Frau.

Other changes include enhanced in-flight entertainment including wi-fi and LiveTV in all cabins on long-haul flights, while the uniforms of male Alitalia flight attendants will be modified in 2016 to include a navy blue and green striped tie.

The airline also announced a range of new routes to come on stream over the next three years, to destinations such as Beijing, Mexico City, San Francisco, Santiago, Seoul and Shanghai. The new Alitalia flights will increase the Rome long-haul network from 87 to 113 by mid-2018, and weekly long-haul connections from Milan will double to 25 in the same period.

Italian premier Matteo Renzi praised the Abu Dhabi-based carrier for "believing in Italy and in Alitalia" and said it was a sign of Italy's openness to inward investment.

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier saved the Italian airline from bankruptcy in late 2014 by acquiring a 49 per cent in the struggling company.