Loading ...An air of uncertainty continues to linger around the fate of Alitalia, Italy’s troubled national airline, and this feeling became even more acute as media reports surfaced that highlighted clear divisions within the Italian government over what to do with the badly indebted and loss-making flag carrier. Giulio Tremonti, the government’s finance minister, for example, continues to prefer a possible Air France-KLM take-over of Alitalia, while Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has, in the past, expressed strong opposition to these plans. Yet Tremonti’s hopes that Air France may once again submit a bid to purchase Alitalia seem far-fetched and not entirely realistic at this point, considering that AF-KLM indicated after it pulled its original offer that it would not be returning to the negotiating table. Despite clear statements that the Franco-Dutch carrier is no longer interested, an unnamed source was quoted by the Financial Times who claimed that Tremonti was trying to revive the deal and would like to lure Air France back to the table.
Yet Bruno Ermolli, a personal acquaintance of Prime Minister Berlusconi and the government’s current consultant on the issue of Alitalia’s privatization, seems to be pursuing an altogether different strategy. Ermolli is currently attempting to pull together a consortium of Italian businesses and investors, who could presumably take joint control of the airline. Italy’s Air One may be one of the major players in this consortium and there has been talk of allowing foreign carriers to own a minority stake in the company. If Ermolli proves unsuccessful in his efforts, most analysts agree that the only option for Alitalia would be re-nationalization or the declaration of bankruptcy. In the case of the latter option, a new, smaller airline may actually end up arising as a successor to the current loss-making Alitalia.
www.alitalia.com
