Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM is ready to invest 3.0 bln euro ($4.419 bln) in Italian flagship carrier over five or six years, the group's vice chairman, Leo M. van Wijk, told the Wall Street Journal.
''If we get a deal with the Italian Government, then we will make a general offer for Alitalia,'' said van Wijk, adding the Italian carrier was in need of new capital and refleeting.
''If there is an agreement, Alitalia would need many billions of euros, about three billion, in a period of five to six years,'' van Wijk continued.
He stated that the Alitalia deal depended on the new Italian government and on whether it would support the Italian carrier's plan to cut daily flights from Milan's Malpensa airport.
''If the Malpensa hub is not significantly downsized, we don't see a reason for a deal,'' Van Wijk concluded.
