So, apparently the whole Alitalia situation is still riddled with bickering. Reuters reports:
Alitalia has been canceling scores of flights daily since last Sunday, blaming a group of pilots and cabin crews who are up in arms over a takeover by Italian businessmen and have been following a strict “work to rule” protest.
Of course, the unions are sending the blame right back:
However, unions representing the pilots said the flight cancellations were unnecessary and were aimed at saving money and making it easier for the CAI investor group to take over the company while trying to turn public opinion against the unions.
You know what? I really don’t care what either side says anymore. This whole situation has dragged for far too long. The deal with CAI needs to be finished up and everyone should move on.
If you were like me, you thought that the whole Alitalia thing was taking care of. Well, Reuters reports today that there is more trouble.
The Italian investor group planning to buy Alitalia (AZPIa.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) warned on Thursday that it would walk away from the deal if the bankrupt carrier’s unions failed to get on board with new work contracts.
CAI abandoned talks with unions late on Wednesday after refusing to further modify the contract. There is a Friday deadline for presenting a binding offer for Alitalia’s best assets.
The investor group said on Thursday that striking a deal with the unions was a precondition for proceeding with the takeover, seen as Alitalia’s last shot at avoiding liquidation.
While the story is a bit light on the details of everything going on, I’m going to say that the unions just need to stop getting in the way. Apparently, they still think that fighting and ending up with no airline is better than some airline left. Yes, I know unions exist to protect workers but I think we’ve hit the end of the line here - the unions just need to accept that CAI gives them.
Ok, maybe I exaggerated a little bit when I said Alitalia was saved. I was just excited to see the thread on FlyerTalk. But, there does seem to be some progress being made with the unions! It appears that the CAI Consortium might make a new offer, and the unions might be willing to take it. It is also possible that Air France-KLM will take a minority stake.
Overall I’m hopeful for Alitalia. The unions really need to cooperate though. Yes, I know there will be job losses, but personally I think it’s better to have a smaller Alitalia than no Alitalia.
Check out the story here.
I’m cynical whenever I read an article about Alitalia because it seems that every one says a collapse in imminent in a couple of days but they just keep flying. But, it does seem that the end is really starting to come now. From Reuters:
As concerns about Alitalia’s ability to pay for fuel grew, it suffered its first asset seizure with the Israel Airports Authority confiscating its bank accounts over a $500,000 debt.
And then…
Fantozzi meets civil aviation authorities on Monday to see if Alitalia can retain its operating licence, and he must then decide on announcing the public tender for Alitalia’s assets.
The authority says that if there is no feasible rescue plan, Alitalia’s planes will be grounded within a week to 10 days.
This is certainly a sad situation, and honestly I think the unions can be blamed here. Their constant refusal to accept any offers last week simply made the situation worse. I can certainly understand labor negotiations, but last week it seemed pretty clear: accept the offer or instead of some layoffs, the airline closes. Now it seems that they’re more open to negotiating, but it could be too late.
We’ll have to see how things develop I guess…
Last week Alitalia (finally?) went into bankruptcy. Both Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are possible new investors, according to ATW Online. I certainly think is the best route and it is one that has worked in the past. When Swiss was doing poorly it was acquired by Lufthansa, who operates Swiss as an independent carrier but has made it much more successful. I did find one interesting part of the article:
According to Agence France Presse, the new legislation allows bankrupt companies to speed up the selling of shares and employee reductions while relaxing antitrust rules, which would allow Air One to be combined into the new streamlined carrier.
That’s an option I had not seen in the past. The reason I find it interesting is that Air One has a strong partnership with Lufthansa - strong enough to put the Lufthansa logo on some planes. They are also a member of Lufthansa’s Miles & More frequent flyer program. I wonder if this angle makes Lufthansa more likely or less likely to be involved in a new Alitalia.
On a side note, this news item made me think of the current debate about giving antitrust immunity to American, British Airlines, and other Oneworld airlines antitrust immunity. If anything, the reorganization of Alitalia should convince regulators to approve their application. If either Lufthansa or Air France-KLM acquires Alitalia, it gives that airline (and its alliance) some more transatlantic power. If I recall correctly, Star (Lufthansa) and SkyTeam (Air France-KLM) already have antitrust immunity. Not giving it to Oneworld isn’t the right move, I think.
Edit: I neglected to mention that Alitalia is currently a member of SkyTeam.
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