LONDON – A renovated Alitalia (AZ) would start with 45 aircraft, hire about 4,500 employees, and receive just over €1bn (US$1.2bn) in state funding.
According to the newspaper La Repubblica, Mario Draghi, Italy’s new prime minister, faces a major challenge. To relaunch the company, he must follow the rules set forth by Brussels with less than half of the cash that was previously expected.
The Mef company that was formed to take over the old AZ will have to alter its relaunch plans in some ways. The premier himself requests it, stating that he does not want to implement a project that is “old school,” but rather one that is designed to move forward one step at a time.
From the end of April, the new ITA airline, led by Fabio Lazzerini, will buy the entire AZ aviation group, including aircraft and employees, to be ready to intercept summer traffic, assuming that bookings are positive.
Reduced Fleet
Previously, laRepubblica.it reported that the now-defunct Conte government had planned to launch the new AZ operation with 70 aircraft, 6,000 employees, and a €3bn dowry.
According to the daily Il Giornale via Reuters, the new AZ could begin with 43-45 planes and 2,500-3,000 staff. The target, according to Il Sole 24 Ore, was to start flying the revamped airline on June 1.
Reduced State Funding
The state aid intended for ITA was reduced from €3bn to €1bn. The new company’s departure will be hasty in order to avoid AZ’s final collapse under the extraordinary administration. Consider that a portion of February’s salary was paid two days late.
Indeed, the unions are beginning to demand answers: tomorrow, Usb, Cub, the Air Crew Committee, and Assovolo will have a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Transportation.
The Fnta, or rather Anpac, Anpav, and Anp are also in discussions with ITA on the topic of valuable take-off and landing slots for the businesses.
Alitalia Boeing 777-243 EI-FNI Landing on Runway 16R in Rome Fiumicino Intl’ Airport (FCO). Photo: Andrea Ongaro @alphaoscaraviation