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The board of Alitalia chose Air France-KLM as its preferred buyer on Friday, saying the French-Dutch carrier was a better match than a small Italian airline favored by the unions.

Its unanimous decision on Air France-KLM’s non-binding offer must still be approved by the government, which holds a 49.9 percent stake in the money-losing flagship airline and might face pressure against letting it pass into foreign hands.

source: Reuters

Air France-KLM has offered a share swap and a capital increase of €750 million (US$1 billion) as part of its bid for Alitalia, the chairman of the Franco-Dutch airline was quoted as saying.

The group would renew Alitalia’s aging fleet and cut up to 1,700 jobs, Jean-Cyril Spinetta was quoted as saying in Italian newspapers Sunday.

Alitalia is scheduled to hold a board of directors meeting Tuesday to announce a decision on which sole bidder to open negotiations with. The Italian government, which has a 49.9 percent stake in the struggling airline, met earlier this week but failed to decide on a preferred bidder.

source: International Herald Tribune

The chaos surrounding the auction of an Italian government stake in Alitalia grew on Thursday, as Singapore Airlines denied it was interested in buying any part of the carrier less than an hour after Alitalia said it had received an offer.

Alitalia said a group consisting of Singapore Airlines, Evergreen Special Situation Fund and THL Transportation Equities Fund wanted to buy the 49.9% stake that’s for sale. The airline said it passed the details onto the Italian government.

source: Market Watch

The chaos surrounding the auction of an Italian government stake in Alitalia grew on Thursday, as Singapore Airlines denied it was interested in buying any part of the carrier less than an hour after Alitalia said it had received an offer.

Alitalia said a group consisting of Singapore Airlines, Evergreen Special Situation Fund and THL Transportation Equities Fund wanted to buy the 49.9% stake that’s for sale. The airline said it passed the details onto the Italian government.

source: Market Watch

The chaos surrounding the auction of an Italian government stake in Alitalia grew on Thursday, as Singapore Airlines denied it was interested in buying any part of the carrier less than an hour after Alitalia said it had received an offer.

Alitalia said a group consisting of Singapore Airlines, Evergreen Special Situation Fund and THL Transportation Equities Fund wanted to buy the 49.9% stake that’s for sale. The airline said it passed the details onto the Italian government.

source: Market Watch

Italian national carrier Alitalia will be shut down unless it finds a buyer, the government said, in an apparent warning to unions that played a central role in deterring suitors.

Italy scrapped its seven-month auction of the loss-making airline on Wednesday after the last bidders pulled out, and now faces dwindling options and growing political embarrassment over the sale’s failure.

source: Reuters

Alitalia flight attendants were staging a four-hour strike Monday, the latest in a series of protests buffeting the struggling Italian carrier.

Alitalia officials said it was too early to know how many flights would be affected by the protest, scheduled to last until 4 p.m. (1400GMT). Delays and cancellations were expected, the Rome airports authority warned on its Web site.

Thousands of travelers were left stranded last month when protests by flight attendants and air traffic controllers forced Alitalia to cancel nearly 400 flights. Flight attendant unions are trying to keep up the pressure on the carrier over contract negotiations.

source: International Herald Tribune

Twin strikes stranded thousands of Alitalia passengers on Tuesday as the Italian government said it was willing to quit the state-controlled airline entirely by selling its whole 49.9 percent stake.

The strikes by air traffic controllers and Alitalia cabin crew caused travel chaos which also affected other airlines, threatening to frustrate fans of soccer club AC Milan planning to travel to Wednesday’s Champions League final in Athens.

source: Reuters

Italian rival airline Air One emerged Monday as the frontrunner in the three-way race for Alitalia as Treasury officials met to discuss which bidders will make it to the next phase of the auction.

Three consortiums are vying for a minimum 39.9 per cent stake in the troubled national carrier, which according to figures published ahead of Tuesday’s board meeting lost more than 400 million euros (542 million dollars) during the course of 2006.

Of these, Air One is the favourite among analysts because it is seen as being in the best position to guarantee the company’s Italian identity, as requested by the Treasury.

source: monstersandcritics.com

Alitalia’s flight attendants walked off their jobs Thursday, forcing the Italian airline to cancel more than 350 flights.

The 24-hour strike would affect 30,000 passengers, Alitalia said when it announced last week that it would cancel 202 domestic and 154 international flights.

source: Herald Tribune