Alitalia Aircraft

Alitalia, Italy’s national airline company, has been in a critical situation ever since two years ago. Several attempts have been made to save the company since then, and airlines such as Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and British Airways have been involved in the process.

On Friday, the Italian investors’ group CAI (Compagni Aerea Italiana) has made a 1 billion Euros offer for Alitalia and they hope that in the future they will be able to join one of the major European Airlines.

Unfortunately, this offer has a down size, as this purchase will mean that more than 3,000 people will lose their jobs. Some Alitalia trade unions are still against this offer, although negotiations have been carried out for a long time.

The rescue plan states that CAI will have 12,500 people working for Alitalia, 3,500 less than now. Apart from the personnel cut, they will also cease activity on unprofitable routes and will get rid of some of the older aircrafts.

Experts advise the deal must follow EU competition rules; otherwise Alitalia is sure to declare bankruptcy.
The Italian government has even made modifications to the bankruptcy laws in order to keep the national airline alive, and the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is most keen to settle a deal as soon as possible.