Alitalia oldco hawks aircraft, engines, could rake in €30mn

Two options on the table for Italy’s ITA Airways

The deadline for submitting binding offers for Alitalia heir ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) expired at midnight on Monday, May 23. However, as part of the bid widely seen as having the best chance, Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l) has reportedly halved its interest to a 20% stake.

According to local media, insiders confirmed reports that emerged earlier this month, that two offers for ITA are on the table at Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance: a consortium made up of Lufthansa and shipping giant MSC, and US-based investment fund Certares, which is reportedly working with Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson).

A third interested party, low-cost-carrier investor Indigo Partners, another US fund, appears to have withdrawn, the reason reportedly being that European Union legislation requires that the majority shareholder of a European airline be based in Europe and Indigo had not managed to find a suitable partner.

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ITA Airways outlines A350 deployment plans

ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) has intimated on its social media channels that the first A350-900 in its fleet will depart Rome Fiumicino on June 1, 2022, bound for Los Angeles Int'l.

The new-generation widebody performed its first flight in the Alitalia successor’s metallic blue livery at Airbus’s headquarters at Toulouse Blagnac, ITA announced in posts on April 20 and 21.

“First takeoff of the Airbus A350 from Toulouse airport. It’s just a little time before we welcome you on board! Have you booked your June 1st flight to Los Angeles yet?” one of the posts said.

ch-aviation schedules analysis shows that beyond California, ITA also plans to deploy its A350s on the following sectors from its Rome hub:

• New York JFK (weekly) starting June 1;
• Buenos Aires Ezeiza (5x weekly) starting June 2;
• Sao Paulo Guarulhos (2x weekly) starting August 4;
• Miami Int'l (3x weekly) starting October 1.

ITA Airways’ chief executive, Fabio Lazzerini, revealed last November...