Alitalia sells off landing slots at Heathrow Airport

Alitalia’s gradual decline has now reached a point where the Italian carrier is beginning to sell of some of its much coveted slots at Heathrow Airport. When news of the sale got out, major airlines all scrambled to get first bids on these lucrative slots and hence access to Europe’s busiest airport. Although the auction is not yet underway, analysts believe that each slot can earn up to £20 million, as it is very rare for carriers to give up their access to Heathrow Airport. This type of sell-off on the part of the Italian flag carrier would allow for other major airlines to either solidify their position at Heathrow and thus strengthen their market position, or enter this arena for the first time.

British Airways, BMI and Virgin are all likely to be interested in buying up Alitalia’s slots, according to air travel specialists. It is also possible that Delta and Continental will attempt to enter Heathrow for the first time by purchasing these slots.

Alitalia is apparently now in deep financial trouble. The company has conceded that its total debt has now reached €1 billion and that over the course of the past six months, the company has lost an additional €211 million, with this figure increasing each day that the carrier operates flights. As a result of this difficult financial situation, the airline is now looking at cutting costs and reducing the number of flights. Alitalia owns 14 slots at Heathrow, but it is not known just how many it plans to sell off. Alitalia would likely receive the most money for those slots that allow the plane to take-off in the early morning hours, or in the evening, as these are the busiest times for the airport, due to the large number of business travelers

www.alitalia.com