[AMcWhirter]

In a statement issued a short while ago, James Hogan president and CEO of Etihad said, “Etihad supports the Board of Alitalia’s decision to convene a shareholders’ meeting on April 27 and start preparing the procedures provided by the law.”

[capetonianm]

Sad that people will be made redundant but many of them have been redundant in all but name for years, as they milked the airline. It has been on life support for years. I flew on them a lot up to 1995 or so, mostly on the JNB-NBO-FCO route, flights usually half full between and FCO and NBO and often almost completely empty on JNB-NBO but after too many abysmal experiences, have never flown with them since even though I am still theoretically entitled to free tickets.

[LuganoPirate]

The lesson is to be very careful when dealing with Italian companies. So many think “I’m cleverer/got more money” when they really don’t understand the complexities of Italian business. We don’t know what’s happening just yet, but look at BT (British Telcom that is), KLM, AF, to name a few who have each lost many hundreds of millions and others tied up in lawsuits that have been going on for over 10 years.

Even the Swiss Government who paid the Italians EUR 200 million to complete a rail link to Malpensa. Foolishly they paid in advance and Rome spent it on other things so the work on the line stopped, even though the Swiss had completed their part till the frontier. After a delay of 3 years the Italians have finally started work again an it should be finished end of this year.

Everyone thinks it will be different this time – it won’t – and, sorry to repeat myself, but it will all end in tears!!!

[AMcWhirter]

LP – I recall the days when foreign auto firms got involved with their Italian counterparts and it ended in failure.

Years ago (in the days when Alfa was owned by the Italian govt) Nissan co-operated with Alfa Romeo to design and build the Arna. It was sold in the UK by Nissan (caled Datsun in those days) and even had the Alfasud’s flat-four engine. Sales never took off and the project was abandoned.

Then around 10 years ago America’s GM worked with Fiat Auto for a while. After a couple of years both firms went their own way with GM paying Fiat no less than US$2 billion to terminate their agreement.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2005-02-14/gm-leaves-fiat-in-the-dust

[alainboy56]

To all of you dear forum participants – when all these acts of fraud/cheating/unfinished projects etc etc get discovered (and there is a TV programme on nightly called ‘Striscia la Notizia’ which, with a great deal of humour/parody/self humiliation shows these constant failures), or when things go wrong due to ‘the rules’ or plain incompetence, there is a phrase used by all Italians – said with a slight sigh, its “siamo in italia” – (we are in Italy), and it is fully understood by everybody.

[LuganoPirate]

I’d forgotten about those Alex. The corporate graveyard is littered with failed Italian deals, though it must be said there are many very successful Italian companies and entrepreneurs.

[capetonianm]

At one point in my life I owned an Alfasud and a Fiat 128 Rally, both great little cars to drive but unreliable as hell, badly designed and badly built, and sales and service were shocking.
We also had two Olivetti Golfball tripewriters at the office, which were constantly going wrong.
I used to fly quite a lot on AZ, mainly because they gave me free tickets. Every flight was an adventure, a wander into the realms of the ridiculous. I remember on one flight landing about 6 times at Nairobi on a DC10. Overhead lockers burst open, passengers and crew were screaming and praying.
A couple of years ago I was waiting for a train in Verona. It was announced platform 6, then platform 3, then platform 2, and eventually it just disappeared.
I’m afraid the Italians, in my view, couldn’t organise a spaghetti feast in a pasta factory. I have zero respect for them as business people.
Ah, I’m off to Italy at the weekend, by train! At least will get some decent food.

[openfly]

I booked a group A Avis car recently in Greece. As a Presidents Club member I was “upgraded” to a Jeep Renegade. It was horrific. Almost new. Pulled to the right…and then the left…uncomfortable. The point of this comment…I hadn’t realised that all Jeeps are made by Fiat in Italy, not the USA! says it all.

[AMcWhirter]

capetonian – Like you I owned a Fiat 128 in the 1970s followed by an Alfasud Sprint in the 1980s. The 128 was very reliable but the Alfasud was less so. Both were great cars to drive. But in those days the problem was rust which appeared even after a few years.

[AMcWhirter]

Looks as if Alitalia will be saved, albeit temporarily , by a bridging loan reports Germany’s Handlesblatt (English version).

https://global.handelsblatt.com/companies-markets/bridge-loan-from-rome-for-alitalia-755686?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=post

[Flightlevel]

Fiats in UK rusted early because were shipped to Poole harbour and remained on the sea front until sold. Salt air really develops rust!
Drove around the world in a 124St for many years (wolf in sheep’s clothing) and Fiat campervan for kids holidays, 40mpg, so they can make good cars – and Ferrari have the front row at today’s Grand Prix! Not flying AZ tho’!

[capetonianm]

I had my Fiat 128 in CPT. Luckily I lived at the top of a long steep hill, and on chilly damp mornings I had to let it roll almost the whole way down into town before if would start. (Devil’s Peak to Gardens Centre if that means anything to anybody.) If I parked it outside my ex’s place at Mouille Point I could see piles of rust under it in the morning. It was rust colour, which made it hard to see where the bodywork ended and the rust began! It also had a hand throttle which just jammed the throttle open. A fun car to drive but really badly designed and built.

Eventually it caught fire in the Karoo, because the fuel supply pipe to the carburettor ran directly above the distributor.

My experiences today on Trenitalia prove that, delightful as they are as people, the Italians really can’t make things work properly.

[AMcWhirter]

Alitalia’s future remains uncertain According to Reuters the Italian taxpayers have provided state bailouts of more than Euros 7seven billon over the past decade.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alitalia-opinion-idUSKBN17V0CK?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5904e3e004d3017bbfa2746a&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

[Window-seat]

After many years working in Italy I have concluded they do Skiing & Red Wine best.

[LuganoPirate]

I guess if your brakes fail Capetonian, you’ll end up in the pool of the Mount Nelson?

I’ve got to say though, that three Alfa’s, Guiletta, 2000 Spider and a GTV6 2.5, the only problem to all three was the gear jumping out when reversing!

[Author]

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