Ernesto Bertarelli flies home to Geneva as Alinghi talk resurfaces

Ernesto Bertarelli flew from Olbia, Sardinia, to Geneva on the morning of June 5, 2026, a brief 63-minute hop across the Ligurian Sea aboard his Bombardier Global 7500, HB-JIT. Olbia is a common departure point for the Costa Smeralda, a favoured summer anchorage and a gateway to the Mediterranean yachting circuit where Bertarelli has long maintained a presence.

The same week the flight touched down, sailing media and Swiss sport officials have renewed discussion about a future Swiss America's Cup challenge. Bertarelli founded Team Alinghi and delivered Switzerland's only America's Cup victories in 2003 and 2007, per his [wikipedia.org](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesto_Bertarelli) biography. While Bertarelli has publicly stepped back from the syndicate's daily operations, his return to Geneva — home of the Société Nautique de Genève and the team's original base — comes as the Cup's Protocol period opens for the 39th edition. No formal bid has been announced, but the arrival adds a ripple of speculation to an otherwise quiet week in the sailing world.

This flight follows a pattern: Bertarelli left Geneva for Olbia on May 30, spent roughly a week on Sardinia, and returned to home base. His Bombardier Global 7500, operated by Global Jet from Geneva, regularly rotates between the Alps, the Riviera, and the Mediterranean. Whether the stopover was strictly leisure or involved quiet conversations with the sailing community, the symbolism of landing back at LSGG is clear.