There are reports in the European press that the 'new' Alitalia will have a strategic partner by November 12 and that the future incarnation of Italy's national carrier will then officially take off in December.
Alitalia's flight operations are about to be sold to a group of Italian investors which will pick the partner which will be responsible for actually running the carrier.
Pundits say the choice of a strategic partner is between Air France-KLM and Germany's Lufthansa.
According to the French daily La Tribune, Air France-KLM chairman Jean Cyril Spinetta recently told the airline's unions that the Franco-Dutch carrier was ready to acquire a 20-25% stake in the 'new' Alitalia.
The daily added that the revamped Italian carrier would officially begin flight operation in December after a strategic partner was chosen November 12.
A similar hypothesis and timetable was reported by the Dutch daily De Telegraaf which said Air-France-KLM was ready to pick up 15-20% of the new carrier.
Both Air France-KLM and Lufthansa on Monday refused to make any comment on the press reports.
Earlier this year Air France-KLM saw its bid to acquire all of Alitalia scuttled by opposition from the airline's unions as well as the center-right, which went on to win Italy's general election in April.
Since then the government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi moved to change Italy's bankruptcy laws to allow Alitalia's profitable flight operations to be spun off and sold debt-free.
The the rest of the carrier's assets and activities would be sold or liquidated to help pay for over one billion euros in debts.
This strategy was part of the so-called Phoenix Plan which was drawn up for the government by Italy's second-biggest bank, Intesa SanPaolo.
The bank then joined a consortium of Italian investors, Compagnia Aerea Italiana (CAI), which stepped forward with a bid tailored to the Phoenix Plan.
The plan also called for Alitalia's flight operations to be merged with those of Italy's biggest private carrier Air One, which is also part of CAI.
CAI is currently putting the finishing touches on its formal offer for Alitalia and is moving to become a joint stock company with additional new partners, including the carrier's future strategic partner.
Lufthansa has in its favor the fact that it has the support of several Alitalia unions and members of government, Premier Berlusconi first among them.
The German carrier already has a code sharing agreement with Air One and appears to be more interested in developing Milan's Malpensa airport, a factor important to a key ally in Berlusconi's government, the regionalist Northern League.
Air France-KLM, on the other hand, appears to many to be the more natural partner for Alitalia in which it already holds a 2% stake, making it the largest shareholder after the Italian treasury.
Alitalia and Air France-KLM are also both members of the international SkyTeam alliance of airlines.
CAI is headed by Piaggio Chairman Roberto Colaninno who brought in Piaggio CEO Rocco Sabelli to hold the same job in the new company.
CAI's other partners include Pirelli chief Marco Provera Tronchetti, the Ligresti insurance family, the Benetton family and Bellavista Caltagirone family, which through its company Acqua Marcia offers handling and maintenance services in five national airports, including Malpensa.
