The Alitalia brand will continue to fly over the next few days. There is still no official confirmation, but the tricolor tail of the planes could be Ita's business card. For two reasons. The first is that the state newco will use from Friday 52 planes arriving from the Alitalia fleet, with which it has concluded a contract for the acquisition of the “aviation” branch. And since the Airbuses will be used up to the last by the old company, there will be no time to repaint the fuselage: it is a complex operation that can take up to a week.
The second reason is linked to an alleged agreement between Ita and Alitalia for a temporary use of the trademark, reached pending the auction for the sale to conclude with a different outcome from that recorded in the past few days, when no offer has been submitted. . But the rumors on the subject are different.
In Ireland Ita would be repainting at least one Airbus with a special livery: on the fuselage, in large letters, there would be the writing “Born in 2021” (born in 2021).
The conditions
The price set by the commissioners for the brand - 290 million euros - was judged too high. President Alfredo Altavilla is considering whether to participate in the second round or whether to wait for the third round, when the commissioners will be able to negotiate the sale directly. An important part of the Alitalia dispute is linked to the progress of this tender: employees' salaries in September were paid at 50%. The second half will come only after the sale of the brand.
Money
In the meantime, the new airline has received from the Ministry of Economy the first tranche of 700 million euros of the capital increase approved on July 28 by the shareholders' meeting. The capital thus increases to 720 million euros. The first flight is scheduled except for surprises - that is, strikes, which are currently not excluded - on Friday at 6.30 am: scheduled take-off from Fiumicino, landing at Linate.
