Alitalia saved by the Government and reborn as ITA Airways

[sn26567]

Alitalia parks nearly 20% of its fleet

Alitalia has temporarily parked twenty-two of its aircraft. Though it still officially claims to operate 137 aircraft, extensive ACARS research has shown that the Italian national carrier has over the past two weeks parked two A319-100s, four A320-200s, thirteen A321-100s, two A330-200s in addition to one Air One A320-200. Most of the aircraft are at least temporarily stored at Rome Fiumicino.

Earlier this year, Alitalia phased-out one A320-200 (joined by another which was damaged in a landing incident at Fiumicino) and an A321-100.

Collectively, Gruppo Alitalia, which consists of Alitalia, Alitalia CityLiner, Alitalia Express, Air One and Volare Airlines, now operates 120 aircraft namely twenty A319-100s, fifty-one A320-200s, nine A321-100s, ten A330-200s, ten B777-200(ER)s, fifteen EMB-175s and five EMB-190s.

Source: ch-aviation

[airazurxtror]

Speaking at a news conference in Rome, Michael O'Leary said if Ryanair were asked to join the capital hike, currently earmarked only for shareholders of Alitalia, "we would evaluate" the possibility.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/ ... 03?rpc=401

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Rumour ( ANSA ) around tomorrow will be a meeting/announcement concerning the new restructuring of Alitalia..
+1900 job losses with 280 pilots and 350 FA...

in italiano : http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche ... 52971.html

Google translation in Dutch;
(ANSAmed) - ROME, 9 december - Bijna 1.900 banenverlies en 350 miljoen besparingen. Dit moet onder meer, volgens bronnen bekend met de situatie, het Plan Alitalia, die morgen zal worden voorgelegd aan de vakbonden. De ontslagen moet betrekking hebben op onder andere 280 piloten en 350 stewardessen.

Zoals voor de besparingen, moet 130 miljoen gaan om de kosten van het werk beïnvloeden, terwijl de resterende 220 miljoen een hervorming van alle items van de uitgaven moeten dekken.

Hope this offer will save the rest...

CXB

[ticketbuyer]

It seems that AZ has got it's 300 millon Euro capital increase, thanks to the intervention of Poste Italia, and Etihad has reportedly requested access to AZ's detailed financial figures in order to assess the possibility of an investment.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/ ... ED20131211

[ticketbuyer]

Etihad have offered to buy 49% of AZ, but are expected to get about 35%, they have plans to create a hub at FCO.
Poste Italia are not happy because they don't want any one share holder to have more than 10%.

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Rumours are that tomorrow Ethihad will confirm an investment of 300 million above the already raised 300 million by the other investors.
Hereby Alitalia will withdraw many routes and will loose around 2000 employees.
KLM-AF don't invest and will loose hereby there veto on other carriers codeshares and options.
Exit KLM, oil dollars come in..
What will this really mean for AZ next year?
A380 to AUH for longhaul and AZ domestic and the americas only?

CXB

[sn26567]

Alitalia has asked banks to extend an existing loan agreement by 50 million euros, daily Il Messaggero reported today (Saturday), in a sign the troubled Italian airline may again be facing a liquidity crunch just weeks after a capital increase.

The request comes on top of the 200 million euros in bank loans already agreed on in October as part of a 500 million euro government-engineered rescue package.

[tsv]

I hope EY will walk away from this. Alitalia don't deserve to be saved by anybody.

Morevover I can't see how EY can prosper from this deal. Sure they get more feed from Italy but at what cost?

And no they won't be running A380's to Rome, they don't have any!

If they want to invest in European Airlines to access better feed they need to identify Smaller Airlines who can't lose so much money. Or invest in Start Ups.

[lumumba]

I hope EY will walk away from this. Alitalia don't deserve to be saved by anybody.

Morevover I can't see how EY can prosper from this deal. Sure they get more feed from Italy but at what cost?

And no they won't be running A380's to Rome, they don't have any!

If they want to invest in European Airlines to access better feed they need to identify Smaller Airlines who can't lose so much money. Or invest in Start Ups.

What do you mean they don't deserve???? Do you want Alitalia to disappear and thousand people without a job!!!!
No good for them that let 's hope it works for THEM.

[tsv]

What do you mean they don't deserve???? Do you want Alitalia to disappear and thousand people without a job!!!!
No good for them that let 's hope it works for THEM.

More or less. The Management of Alitalia have not been successful running a competitive Company and the staff have been unhelpful by demanding more renumeration than they are worth. Instead of perpetually bleeding their Investors dry (inc the Italian Tax Payer) it would be better for all concerned if they went away and did something else. Who knows they may even find something they are good at!

As for the Jobs, well the Public will still fly, there will be Airlines to serve them and the Airlines will require extra staff to fill the void. Overall there will be less jobs to go round in Italian Aviation but such is life. Sooner or later the Human Being will find a way to do more with less, somehow or other. But it's nothing to be feared, where one door closes another will always open.

[sn26567]

Etihad in final due diligence stage for Alitalia stake buy

Etihad Airways and Alitalia are in the final phase of a due diligence process that may result in an investment by the Abu Dhabi carrier in the troubled Italian airline, both companies said in a joint statement on Sunday.

Alitalia and Etihad have been in talks for weeks on a possible investment by the Gulf carrier, which sources close to the matter say could involve Etihad buying a 40 percent stake in Alitalia for as much as 300 million euros.

The two companies and their advisors will determine a common strategy that meets the objectives of both parties in the next 30 days, the statement said.

The announcement comes as Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta is on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates to boost bilateral ties between the two countries.

A spokesman for the Italian premier's office confirmed that Alitalia has been among the topics discussed in Abu Dhabi. More details on the talks are expected to be released at a scheduled press conference later this evening.

A tie-up with the Gulf carrier could boost Alitalia's liquidity and allow it to invest in a new strategy focused on long-haul routes that could make it profitable again.

More from Reuters in The Chicago Tribune

Earlier, Air France KLM has hinted that it would not give up its stake in Alitalia and could participate in a re-capitalization.

[ticketbuyer]

The statement said:
"Any issues that may prevent the establishment of an appropriate business plan will have to be resolved to ensure the plan can be implemented to move Alitalia to sustainable profitability"

Good luck to all concerned.

[sn26567]

Etihad in final due diligence stage for Alitalia stake buy

... and Lufthansa doesn't like it! Lufthansa finally reacts on the ever-growing expansion of Gulf States airlines in Europe.

Lufthansa calls on EU to block Etihad-Alitalia tie-up

Lufthansa has criticized plans by Etihad Airways to invest in Alitalia and called on the European Commission to block the deal, saying it would amount to unfair competition.

Lufthansa has fiercely lobbied against state-owned Gulf airlines such as Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways, and their fast-paced expansion in Europe, saying they benefit from unfair state aid and thus distort the market.

Lufthansa added that Europe's policy makers should stop burdening the region's own airlines with measures such as emissions trading, passenger taxes and night flight bans and focus on ensuring a fair global framework.

The European Commission is already looking at whether an investment by the state-owned Italian postal service in Alitalia contravenes its state aid rules.

More from Reuters

[Boeing767copilot]

Lufthansa calls on EU to block Etihad-Alitalia tie-up


http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/ ... SO20140203

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

So they prefer to let Alitalia go down then Etihad let invest is them ?
If LH doesn't come up with some money for AZ , let them shut up !
At least one company is giving a helpless case IMO and so saving some hundreds of italian jobs in an already weak economy...
Think LH tried and lost the italian influence with LH Italia...

CXB

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Hopefully there is soon some white smoke above Rome and is Alitalia's future granted.
Maybe smaller and domestic and as a feeder through the Gulf but better this then no alternative for going to Italy... or prefer we all a europe full of FR-Easy-Wizz and some big ones AF-BA-LH ?

CXB

[convair]

LH is right imho! Europe should invent some more efficient device to protect its airlines than the mere non-majority rule for non-EU shareholding. Otherwise, its commercial aviation will soon be "engulfed"!

Cathay, Alitalia has had many chances to reform itself but it never will. A new Alitalia, rid of government participation and interference, would probably be a better alternative for the jobs there than the current one will be after re-structuring by Etihad!

[RoMax]

Cathay, Alitalia has had many chances to reform itself but it never will. A new Alitalia, rid of government participation and interference, would probably be a better alternative for the jobs there than the current one will be after re-structuring by Etihad!

I agree. Many people and companies (such as AF-KL) tried to reform Alitalia without success, mainly because of the unacceptable government interference. In 2008 the New Alitalia was said to be the turning point in their history, but in reality nothing changed and as a result a few years later they are back in a disastrous position. AF-KL demanded fundamental changes which Alitialia couldn't meet, so I'm very happy that AF-KL didn't go on with the shareholder investments, it would have been lost money. And I believe Etihad is making a mistake as well. Either they do not succeed in what they want because of the Italian government, or they adapt to the situation which will not mean anything good for Alitalia and in which case LH will be right that the European market is getting dominated by money from the Middle Eastern oil industry.

I hope I'm wrong, but even with an investment by Etihad, I don't see a bright long term future for AZ. I think it would be better for Italian aviation (on the long term) to start over again with a fresh airline which is not controlled by the government. But of course on the short term that would mean a great loss of jobs, so that makes it the unpopular choice...

[Air Key West]

Had a busy day today. Quickly went through the posts. Cannot help reacting (in a sarcastic way, sorry)

Lufthansa calls on EU to block Etihad-Alitalia tie-up. Lufthansa has criticized plans by Etihad Airways to invest in Alitalia and called on the European Commission to block the deal, saying it would amount to unfair competition.Lufthansa has fiercely lobbied against state-owned Gulf airlines such as Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways, and their fast-paced expansion in Europe, saying they benefit from unfair state aid and thus distort the market.

LOL ! LH is getting cross and scared. So, are b.air employees, but for the opposite reason.
A dynamic rich oïl Sheikh who really invest and has a pro-active attitude is perhaps better than a dull German CEO with no guts (and balls). Etihad, so far, is pro-active with AB and Air Serbia, for instance.
Yes, Etihad will want these airline to (also and perhaps mainly) feed their own flights, but that is exactly what LH wants from b.air. Apart from flights to Africa, pax from/to BRU will have to fly via FRA/MUC if their destinations are outside Europe. That's what LH wants.

LH should not forget that it were our heads of State and governements (Thatcher leading the pack) who, in the EU Council meetings decided to fully liberalize commercial aviation in Europe and prohiting State intervention/subsidies while later on creating an environment in which it would be difficult to operate profitably. However, regional subsidies were accepted. A blind eye was tuned on a number of unfair practices (until recently).

Whether we like it or not, Gulf carriers will become at least equal players with well established European operators. If LH is allowed to own LX, OS, Germanwings and perhaps SN, isn't that a big share of the European air business ? And inaglobalized world and economy, why could not a non European airline have a substantial minority stake in a European airline (if eventually this will save many jobs, what's wrong ? Better pay unemployment allowances to thousands of people ?

Now, yesterday, a member mentioned dreaming of a rich oil Sheikh. If b.air were pro-active (i.e.if LH still gives themsome autonomy - they should,no ? they only own 45 % of the airline, b.air should not start to dream of a rich oïl sheikh, that's too late, but should approach an oïl rich sultan owning an airline with a lot of potential, who still keeps a low profile, but for how long. ?

And if we want to stay in Europe, why not a partnership on equal footing with SK ? Few overlappings. Complementary routes....
(now I'm going to sleep, exhausting day). If you wish, dream of oïl sheikhs or sheikas (but the latter's powers are probably very limited...) and forget dull German businessmen/women who fail to energize the partners they claim to support Good night.

[ticketbuyer]

It seems that Etihad's plan for AZ includes leaving MXP completely, greatly reducing flights between LIN and FCO and using the slots for new European and North African flights. Maybe expanding LIN in the longer term.
It looks like a sensible plan.
Nevertheless local government officials are not happy and have gone to Rome to protest.
I don't know if they flew or took the high speed train.