(Boursier.com) — The decision is getting closer. The Italian government should have chosen a buyer for Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA), Italy’s new national airline, in the “coming weeks”, according to its chief executive. In an interview with ‘Bloomberg’ on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association’s annual general meeting in Doha, Fabio Lazzerini said he expects an agreement to be reached by the end of the year. ‘year.
Two groups of bidders are competing in this dossier, which is closely monitored by Rome: on the one hand, a consortium comprising the container transport giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping and the German airline Lufthansa, on the other, a consortium led by the American investment company focused on travel and tourism, Certares Management, and involving Air France-KLM.
After a series of failures, the Italian administration now led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced in February that it had started the process of selling ITA, the successor to Alitalia. The Italian Treasury managed the tender procedure to ensure that there was competition between the different candidates.
ITA plans to employ around 3,000 people by September, before the scheduled entry into service the following month of the Airbus A220s it will operate from Rome and Milan. The latest-generation narrowbody planes are part of an influx of Airbus planes that the carrier is due to receive until 2025 in order to have a more fuel-efficient fleet.
Lazzerini also clarified that ITA has been largely spared the crew shortages and flight cancellations that have hit most of its competitors as it focuses on ramping up its operations.
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