Milan politicians confirm backing for German carrier
Politicians in Italy's Northern League party have confirmed their backing for Lufthansa as the better partner for the re-vamped national carrier Alitalia.
Leaders of the party based in Milan, Italy's economic capital, are planning a meeting with the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to put their case.
Mr Berlusconi, who came to power last year partly on a ticket to keep Alitalia in Italian hands, also favours a link with the German carrier.
The new owners of Alitalia, CAI, a consortium of 16 businesses, wants a partner carrier to buy a 20-25% stake in Alitalia.
The news agency Reuters yesterday (January 5) reported that Air France KLM, which has the backing of Rome politicians, was edging ahead in the race to be selected.
While Lufthansa prefers a multi-hub approach using airports at both Milan and Rome, AF KLM favours making Rome the new airline's main hub.
In a statement, the Northern League, which is part of Mr Berlusconi's coalition government, said: "The Northern League believes the ideal partner for CAI should be Lufthansa, the only company able to guarantee employment, international services and two hubs -- Milan's Malpensa and Rome's Fiumicino."
Its leader Umberto Bossi said he would meet the prime minister tomorrow (January 7).
He added that a decision in favour of AF KLM would be an "about turn" by Mr Berlusconi.
While AF KLM has more cultural links to and is a member of the same SkyTeam alliance as Alitalia, it failed in a take over bid for the carrier last year because of union opposition.
CAI wants the new partner in place when the streamlined Alitalia is re-launched next week on January 13.
Under the deal to buy Alitalia, CAI has also bought its smaller rival Air One which it will merge with the national airline.
It has also cut its workforce from abut 20,000 to 12,500 and reduced its network of routes.
The airline selected as Alitalia's partner is expected to have to pay up to €275m for its stake.
www.airfrance.com [1] www.alitalia.com [2] www.lufthansa.com [3]