10410 Alitalia Can Guarantee No Flights After Sunday

If anyone has read the blog written by someone who worked/works for Alitalia, they would never ever have bought a ticket to fly with them....and nor should you!!

So where is it Noble??? I flew with then once short haul to Italy. They were fine.

"according to union sources quoted by Italian news agencies".

This whole story derives from union statements about what the bankruptcy administrator is alleged to have said. Berlusconi claims that "political" motives are behind the failure to negotiate a resolution between the administrator and the unions.

Now, I'm as Red as red can be, (frankly, I think the various Italian communist-derived parties are a bit soft), but I think Silvio may have a point. If my gut feel for partisan Italian politics is right, I could easily see the radical Left "talking up" the airline's difficulties, hoping to bring it down to put pressure on the government.

[quote=Sally Donaldson;96830]ROME (AFP) - Failing Italian airline Alitalia cannot guarantee any flights after Sunday because of lack of fuel, special administrator Augusto Fantozzi reportedly warned Saturday as bankruptcy loomed.

No-one wants to supply the airline - so so sad.

[url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080913/tts-italy-airline-unions-company-distres-5ee5e64.html]Alitalia 'can guarantee no flights after Sunday' - Yahoo! News UK[/url][/quote]

Why so sad Sal?
How often have [I][U]you [/U][/I]supported the company and flown with Alitalia?
I thought your penchant and field of expertise was [I]always[/I] for the cheapest flights that you could find on the net?

It's not that 'no one wil supply them' (with fuel).... and why should they?
[B]Alitalia haven't got any money left to buy any!!! [/B]

Carole I answered that question already. I have flown with them once. Yes I feel sad as I feel major countries should have a reputable national carrier. I'm very pro Italy, more so than pro English in fact

latest?

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7615113.stm]BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Alitalia crisis talks to resume[/url]

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Never flown Alitalia and never had the urge as I have always found them to be over expensive as are all national carriers "flagship airlines". Politics aside, the sad fact is many thousands of ordinary folks are about to lose there jobs and livelyhoods, in already trying times. It doesnt take a genius to work out that this is the tip of the iceberg how ever much it is played down. Anyone in the UK building trade will tell you it is following the pattern of the early nineties. I would stand by my word and call in the Haulage sector next after construction and travel and tourism but that to is dead on knees already. Buckle up for the bumpy ride !

Well - between the post from Steve Graham and the post by craigandleigh one might wonder about the truth behind why no other airline (nor 'cartel' contrived by Silvio Berlusconi) can save this flag carrier. If the 'ordinary people' - which I assume means the unionised cosseted employees of Alitalia - had accepted that they have had their day, the airline (in one form or another) might survive (or might have survived, I'm not fully up to date). Even the leftist politicos have (had, as of Saturday) acknowledged that the unions have slit their own throats. So Steve's (not unreasonable) comment that the 'left' is revelling in this dificulty doesn't really hold water, if, by 'the left', he intends the political 'left'. Veltroni has craftily distanced himself from the deal wreckers.

Progress?

[url=http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSLF64787920080915]Big Alitalia unions strike initial deal | Industries | Industrials, Materials & Utilities | Reuters[/url]

The original Air France - KLM takeover bid back in March envisaged some 2,100 jobs lost, but the company could continue operating. I've just heard in the Spanish TV news that the number of Alitalia's employees who are going to loose their jobs is now over 10,000 and the debt is huge... Who is going to be able to put the airline back on its feet.... or wings. Are they all insane?????
I think time is confirming what the Air France CEO said about the need for Alitalia to get an exhorcist.....

Indeed, Gala. It is a shame, in many ways, that the Air France/KLM negotiations culminated at the time of the elections, thereby becoming more a political pawn than a national jewel.

I think the latest numbers quoted for the likely number of Alitalia redundancies, in the event of complete closure, is closer to 20,000. This, of course, doesn't include the many more businesses that will be forced into closure or, at the very least, restructuring because of lost business. Nor to the situation at Malpensa, where the fight against Air France/KLM really started.

The situation will change gear very soon into a Anti-Union one, I fear - remembering that dott. Berlusconi has such a passion for Margaret Thatcher...

[url=http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/philip-hensher/philip-hensher-alitalia-flies-into-the-sunset-and-not-before-time-932015.html]Philip Hensher: Alitalia flies into the sunset, and not before time - Philip Hensher, Commentators - The Independent[/url]

Events as they happen with Alitalia. Suggest you bookmark and refresh t the page for updates if interested.

[url=http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/?JavaScript=1&search=alitalia]NewsNow: (alitalia)[/url]

The 'thot plickens' [an article from World Aeronautical Press Agency at 3.15pm]

Airlines
03:15 pm - Tuesday
Alitalia (4): Financial Police requests the acquisition of accounts
Rome, Italy - An investigation relating to the past of the airline
(WAPA) - This morning, on decision of the Rome Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Police's tax squad has been sent at the Alitalia headquarters.

The goal was to acquire the accounts of the last 10 years along with documents relating to the participations of AZ in other companies and contracts.

Public Prosecutors Nello Rossi and Stefano Pesci stated the investigation is relating to the past of Alitalia.

(Avionews) (050) 080916151547-1094335 (World Aeronautical Press Agency - 2008-09-16 03:15 pm)

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Sound's like a story from the 70's I bet there are a few airlines(budget0 out there waiting to carve up what's left.

ie routes.

This is just awful. I wish that they had a bit of common sense and had managed to do things otherwise. But then, common sense is the least common of all senses. I feel sad for the workers.

Hold on a second there are a lot of conflicting stories and updates that keep emerging if you care to follow my post before this one. A wee prayer might be a good thing Tutti eh??

Or bring in the exhorcist, Sally. It is a horrible mess. I feel for the workers.

[url=http://finanza.repubblica.it/scripts/cligipsw.dll?app=KWF&tpl=kwfinanza%5Cdettaglio_news.tpl&del=20080916&fonte=RPB&codnews=193012]Repubblica.it | Finanza[/url]

At last some hope! Within Thursday Alitalia will have bitten the dust (or not) but tomorrow we are promised that definitively we will know! I can't wait...there must be better stories to fill the pages of newsprint.

Flying today? Possibly not

[url=http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSLH46843320080917]UPDATE 1-Alitalia scraps 40 flights over strike, fuel OK | Industries | Industrials, Materials & Utilities | Reuters[/url]

It seems there's been a suggestion that the airline is renationalised but that's been ruled out. Also their licence might be suspended.

Well, Alitalia has now started cancelling flights though, [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7625146.stm]according to the BBC[/url], they say its for 'technical reasons'.
Welcome to the alternative reality that people in Communist states live in. 'The chairman is not dead. He is only ill.'

[quote=Marc;97353]Well, Alitalia has now started cancelling flights though, [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7625146.stm]according to the BBC[/url], they say its for 'technical reasons'.[/quote]
Technically meaning that they can not "technically" afford to pay the state company that supplies the fuel, eh?
:nah:

[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/09/22/cnalitalia122.xml]Alitalia last ditch rescue hopes look slim - Telegraph[/url]

a ray of light for alitalia??

[url=http://ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2008-09-25_125248688.html]ANSA.it - News in English - Alitalia: 'New' carrier Oct 15[/url]

It also seems easyJet and Lufthansa are requesting 20 routes operating out of Fiumicino that were dropped by Alitalia.

[url=http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=3250157]MoneyAM - Free Share Prices, Stock Quotes, Charts, News, Level2[/url]

It is interesting to note that the "Open Skies Policy" hasn't been getting much media space in connection with the Alitalia Show recently. The theory of "Open Skies" - as intended by the plans creators - is that the international [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU-US_Open_Skies_Agreement"]US-Europe[/URL] routes that had been always considered a main asset of any airline are no longer able to be treated as the property of that airline. The agreement is quite a new one, having been signed in 2007 but only coming into effect on March 30 2008. National Italian routes are still administered by [URL="http://www.enac-italia.it/enac_english.htm"]ENAC[/URL], the national aviation authority here - as evidenced a couple of years ago by Alitalia losing their flights to Cagliari because they "forgot" to submit the forms to ENAC. Obviously, Alitalia haven't, in the past, worried too much about the short-haul local routes - but since April of this year the value of the long-haul routes to the USA have been somewhat diminished as a result of the EU/USA policy agreement.

Of course, ENAC still has to license the airlines that land in Italy insofar as safety and security is concerned - but the routes themselves are not subject to license if they are long-haul routes and subject to an "Open Skies" agreement.

It seems that the pilots' union has just agreed. The last one holding out is the flight attendants one. Talks with them will resume on Monday.

[url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080927/tts-italy-airline-company-distress-alita-5ee5e64.html]Alitalia pilots agree to rescue plan: report - Yahoo! News UK[/url]