[transtraxman]

But will Alitalia run out of money before it achieves the objective? And will the suitors run out of patience?

[transtraxman]

The latest news as published by Airwise/Reuters today….
“Italy Woos UAE Funds On Alitalia”,

http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1384868141.html

Etihad seems to deny any interest but if the story is true the sovereign wealth funds will demand their pound of flesh with such a basket case.

[Edski777]

We all know this is Italy. In the end they will come around, but they will try every trick in the book, and the tricks that have not been written about yet, to frustrate the proces and try to move in an advantageous position to win as much as possible in negotiations.
It is a national issue, the Italian government can’t let Alitalia fail.
As Vladimir Putin phrased it:: people have friends, governments have interests. Their interests will most likely differ from most of the neo-liberal economic views expressed in this thread.
Not that I share the view, ideas and many of the solutions that may come out of Italy and its government, but thats reality for you.

[transtraxman]

My understanding of the EU is that it should provide a level playing field for all participants. However, we can guess the likely outcome in this Alitalia case as Edski777 says.

But the Italians are not the only offenders, the French and Germans are too. E.g. at the moment ALL the Spanish banks(whatever their type) are undergoing stress tests. Only HALF the German banks are being stress tested – I believe the commercial banks are while the savings banks are not.

This only goes to illustrate to what lengths governments will stretch the rules(if not ignore them)to defend/promote national icons. Incongruously, the Eurosceptic UK has one of the highest compliance rates for eurodirectives/rules/laws.

In Italy something will be worked out for Alitalia, even if it means drastic paring down. But when and by how much?

PS: Should we not be looking at Air France/KLM and the Lufthansa group to see if they are complyingwith the rules in their reorganisations?

[LuganoPirate]

I have to agree with Edski, The Italians will cobble a deal together, which a year or two later will again fail and they’ll again need more money!

Officially the Government can’t bail out Alitalia so they need Italian companies to put up the cash. How do they do this? By offering business and juicy contracts to those companies and allowing them to write off the (failed) investment from their profits.

A sort of win – win Italian style!!!

[transtraxman]

You have to admit it sucks.

[Edski777]

Transtaxman (and others): welcome to the real world of politics and national interests. Politicians must hate Internet and free speech by now. Eevrything they cook up and used to get away with is now openly discussed in fora like these. Their inabilty to run a government on behalf us exposed beyond all believe.
Would any decent company hire anyone of them?

[transtraxman]

Push,push, shove, shove and it all falls down….

Vueling seems to be helping things along.
“Vueling’s Rome expansion designed to help push Alitalia over the edge?”

http://www.anna.aero/2013/11/22/vuelings-rome-expansion-designed-help-push-alitalia-edge/?utm_source=anna.aero+newsletter&utm_campaign=1fcaf0c74b-anna_nl_221113&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ecdbf41674-1fcaf0c74b-86737162

[Edski777]

My guess is that by the time Vueling will start their operations the Italians will show that they have a few more tricks up their sleeves.
No way they are going to sit on their hands and watch the low cost competitions wipe away the new investments. It would cost them the € 300M and Alitalia would be facing the same problem again.
I predict their is no way they are going to let that happen. My guess is that suddenly airport services for non-Italian operators may become somewhat unreliable and problematic.

[WillieWelsh]

I also cannot believe that the Italian Government will not have many more ploys ready to save Alitalia, it’s almost a way of life for them and it’s been going on longer than most of us would be able to remember.

[MarcusUK]

With Alex’s news on the Alitalia bases being further imposed on by Ryanair, it seems the market for Alitalia is vastly disappearing.

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/ryanair-woos-business-travellers-with-new-bases

One could not for see any future for Alitalia in the European short haul Market, and Long haul is being dominated by the Emirate based Airlines (Etihad, Qatar, Emirates) taking much of their Medium and long haul markets also.

There simply will be no bulk of customer base to keep them going. I think we shall see them close, as they have no hope of beating of Ryanair and Easyjet, and the Middle East Airlines, and being a viable business!

[transtraxman]

This was published yesterday by Airwise/Reuters…
“Italian Businessman To Invest In Alitalia”

http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1386539915.html

Though the article says that the unsubsribed rights will be covered by the state postal service and others, we will have to wait and see. Tomorrow 10th December is the crunch day.

For those who missed this cheeky attempt by O´Leary, at least to grab a headline…
“Alitalia Rebuffs Ryanair Collaboration Offer”

http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1385555773.html

But that was quickly followed by a denial…..
” Ryanair: No Offer To Take Part In Alitalia Cash Call”

http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1386115405.html

Alitalia is another saga which will continue.

[SergeantMajor]

In many ways it’s a shame it is being rescued.

The best scenario would be for it fto fail, with all its legacy baggage, and to be reborn as an efficient contender.

Unsurpringly, this is unlikely to happen in Italy. Such a beautiful country, and always, it seems, in such chaos.

[transtraxman]

Surprise, surprise!!!
The soap opera will continue, at least fror the next six months. Some people/groups are prepared to lose their own or other people´s money.

“Alitalia Reaches Capital Increase Target”
(Airwise/Reuters 10-12-13)

http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1386688122.html

The most illuminating part of the article to quote is the following..
“Today’s Alitalia is much leaner than the group that was rescued in 2008. It has a younger fleet, a lower cost base than that of Air France and has long since scrapped staff perks such as free flights and taxis.

But a misguided focus on the domestic and regional markets has left it vulnerable to competition from low-cost carriers and high-speed trains on the busy Milan-Rome route.”

[AMcWhirter]

Might Etihad invest in Alitalia ?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/11/us-alitalia-etihad-idUSBRE9BA0ED20131211

[Author]

Posts