What will the "new Alitalia" look like?

We’re beginning to know a little more about what the “new Alitalia” will look like, even if many grey areas remain.

Let’s not forget that before the pandemic, we were following with interest what was known as the “Alitalia soap opera“: bought then abandoned by Etihad, saved by the State, taken over by Delta, Ryanair, Lufthansa then by…nobody and finally renationalized in anticipation of better things to come.

Alitalia “saved” by the crisis

In the end, the Italian airline was one of the beneficiaries of the crisis while the European Union began to frown on the State’s many maneuvers to keep the airline alive, the exceptional context created by the pandemic has made it possible to “legalize” numerous state aidswhich allowed Alitalia to slip through the cracks and buy time it would not otherwise have had.

Last autumn, we were told of a fleet of 90 aircraft, 6,500 employees and a new name, “ITA”. Since then, a lot of things have changed, the government has changed, Europe has got involved again and…everything has had to be redone.

Europe urges, Italy trembles

In order to allow the airline to restart, considering the legal state aid, Europe is imposing a real break with the old Alitalia, including a change of name. While we wondered whether “ITA” would be the name of the business or that of the brand, it would seem that the name Alitalia is set to disappear altogether, to be replaced by another. And ITA seems to be the chosen name.

The airline’s assets will be reduced to the essentials: 43 to 45 aircraft, no more, and 2,500 to 4,500 employees. This, of course, provoked an outcry from the unions and the country as a whole, which saw a national symbol butchered and thousands of employees abandoned. But the airline can no longer afford to make the mistakes it used to, and will have to get back on a sound financial footing. The new government therefore has no choice.

And the government has begun again to approach Lufthansa about a potential takeover, convinced that it is the best partner to get the airline back on its feet. For the time being, the Germans are not changing their course, and are unwilling to consider anything more than a commercial partnership. A bluff to ensure that the State does the “dirty work” before buying a truly “clean” airline? Maybe.

Alitalia in question

Time is running out, and the government is going to have to decide and act so that Italy’s national airline (which may not be around for much longer) can make a healthy recovery in circumstances acceptable to the European authorities.

Will Alitalia take off again? Yes.

Under what name? It seems certain that it will have to change its name. ITA seems to have the upper hand.

With what fleet? A fleet of fewer than 50 aircraft, a specialization in long-haul and the abandonment of its domestic network to low-cost carriers.

Can Alitalia survive on long-haul routes with 45 aircraft? It’ll be complicated, but less so than on medium-haul routes! It’ll have to choose his destinations and partners carefully!

Which partners for Alitalia? Now a member of Skyteam and of the transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Delta, it is clear that the company will have to re-evaluate its partnerships, and that an “adhoc” logic will be better suited to its situation than an alliance logic. And a partnership with Lufthansa would shatter its current alliance system.

Will Lufthansa buy Alitalia? In the short term no, but in the medium term… let’s just say that the option is unlikely today until the airline’s situation is clearer, but if there is to be a takeover, Lufthansa does indeed seem to be the best candidate.

Image : B777 Alitalia by Thiago B Trevisan via Shutterstock