Alitalia just never stops generating news, even as it prepares to shut down its last operations on October 15th, the day its independent successor ITA takes to the air as a much smaller airline.
The two big stories for the moment are the impending sale of the Alitalia name and livery on the open market, and an EU ruling that declares €900 million of Italy’s support for Alitalia was illegal under EU competition law and must be repaid…maybe.
The name sale will likely take place this week. ITA is hoping to be the buyer for two key reasons. One is the Italian government’s desire to keep the name going, and the other is to save the new airline the cost of repainting the planes it is buying from the old Alitalia. That’s not a small cost! It is unclear whether any other bidders will make a serious attempt at the name and what they would do with it if they win.
The money, lent to the airline in 2017 and 2018 in attempts to keep it afloat while a new buyer could be found to rescue Alitalia, must be returned to Italy under the ruling by the EU Competition Authority, but because of the agreement separating the old airline from the new, it will not affect ITA’s operations. Because Alitalia is bankrupt and must pay, at least partially, many creditors it seems unlikely it will have the resources to repay the Italian government.
