One of the options the Italian government is examining for Italy's troubled carrier Alitalia would involve a three-way governance for the airline, a top-ranking union official said on Tuesday.
Fabrizio Solari, secretary general of the Filt-Cgil air transport union, explained that the plan would involve the state reducing its stake in the airline from 49.9% to some 25% and allying with an Italian partner and an international one, most likely another airline.
With the Treasury maintaining a 25% stake and an Italian partner holding a similar quota, Solari observed, Alitalia would retain its national character.
Alitalia has been in talks with Air France, which already holds a 2% stake in the Italian carrier, but they appear to have run aground.
There are reports that the Italians backed off because Air France was more interested in Alitalia as an asset than a partner and that the French wanted Italy to eliminate one of its two national hubs, either Rome or Milan, which has become a delicate domestic political issue.
Other possible suitors for Alitalia include Air China and Thai Airways.
However, Alitalia cannot be too choosy because its problem is that it has not reported an annual profit since 2002 and has warned that total losses for this year would exceed its 2005 losses of more than 221 million euros.
