Andy Nativi/GENOA
An alliance between Alitalia and Air France is again on the agenda, with senior managers from both airlines meeting for the first time since Domenico Cempella stood down as chief executive of Alitalia. Cempella's resignation was itself linked to Italian Government moves to ally the state-owned carrier with Swissair parent SAirGroup.
Alitalia is believed to be considering a global commercial agreement which would see it join Air France's SkyTeam alliance, with the group's co-leader Delta Air Lines as US partner. Alitalia CEO Francesco Mengozzi and president Fausto Cereti have discussed the deal with Air France chairman and CEO Jean Cyril Spinetta, with further technical talks on-going.
Recent events have re-established Air France as Alitalia's most likely ally, with SAir close to financial collapse and rocked by a series of top-level management changes, and alliance conditions offered by KLM, its other likely suitor, considered unacceptable.
Alitalia's finances remain dire, with its stock price continuing to fall and reports saying it will take losses of L500-650 billion ($230-300 million) for last year, against its L350 billion forecast last December.
The airline is also believed to be seeking a L1,000 billion cash injection from the Italian treasury for fleet renewal. It would need European Commission approval for the grant, but may have an ace up its sleeve in the form of a recent court ruling which says an earlier L2,000 billion injection (out of L2,750 billion approved) should not have attracted the punitive conditions imposed by the EC. Rather than demanding damages, as planned by Cempella, the new management is seeking approval for a new grant at least to the value of the additional L750 billion authorised in 1997, but never taken.
Source: Flight International