So yesterday - quietly and without fuss, Alitalia's Chairman declared:
“Alitalia is finished,” Mr Colaninno said yesterday. “There is nothing left.”
And with that he placed Alitalia into Bankruptcy.
So the now very complicated dance of restructuring the valuable bits (allegedly there are some) will begin. It entails some of Silvio's friends putting in some cash. It entails merging assets from AirOne into a new company. Finally it means that AF-KL will take a share. (Lufthansa at the last moment has declined as it has too much on its plate digesting the rest of Germany, Austria and Belgium. Or at least their former national carriers).
Michael O'Leary is probably rubbing his hands with glee as he gets rid of the pesky AirOne and gives him SO much ammunition to blast the deal in front of the EU it is almost laughable.
Will the name survive? Probably not as it has become synonymous with plain old junk.
I like these two versions:
Alitalia: Airplane Landed In Tokyo And Luggage In Atlanta
Alitalia: Always Late In Take-off Always Late In Arrival
Too bad about the staff - they really did push the boat out too far. And any non-government investors well tough cookies to you too.
So now its up to Sr Tajani to rule on the legality (ironic don't you think). If he had any honour he would of course recuse himself from this situation but I doubt it.
Ciao Ciao
Showing posts with label Antonio Tajani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Antonio Tajani. Show all posts
28 August 2008
The Germans Are Coming - Lock Up Your Beer
From the file called bizarre attempts at world domination. Lufthansa seems to be hell bent on putting its foot down as many places as possible. For now I think your daughters are safe.
At the risk of upsetting my German friends - the speed with which LH seems to be moving is almost frightening. The parallels of the 20th century are striking. Not content to acknowledge its bidding for Austrian, today LH is seen in talks with the parent of Brussels Airlines (what was once Belgium's national airline SABENA for whom this blog is so named) as reported by Bloomberg.
But not content with its international expansionist aspirations which seem to be insatiable (AirOne tie up, JetBlue investment and Swiss now a part of the group) at home it is making a play to mop up its domestic footprint.
It is buying out the rest of German Wings that it doesn't own and now this comes out:
Lufthansa said earlier today that it's in talks about a possible merger of its Germanwings discount affiliate with travel operator TUI AG's low-cost carrier TUIfly Germany and the Condor charter airline owned by TUI's largest competitor, Thomas Cook Group Plc. Lufthansa holds almost 25 percent of Condor.
Excuse me Sr Tajani (current EU Commissioner for Transportation) - are you paying attention or are you so consumed with rescuing your national airline that you don't care about the consolidation that is occurring.
At the risk of upsetting my German friends - the speed with which LH seems to be moving is almost frightening. The parallels of the 20th century are striking. Not content to acknowledge its bidding for Austrian, today LH is seen in talks with the parent of Brussels Airlines (what was once Belgium's national airline SABENA for whom this blog is so named) as reported by Bloomberg.
But not content with its international expansionist aspirations which seem to be insatiable (AirOne tie up, JetBlue investment and Swiss now a part of the group) at home it is making a play to mop up its domestic footprint.
It is buying out the rest of German Wings that it doesn't own and now this comes out:
Lufthansa said earlier today that it's in talks about a possible merger of its Germanwings discount affiliate with travel operator TUI AG's low-cost carrier TUIfly Germany and the Condor charter airline owned by TUI's largest competitor, Thomas Cook Group Plc. Lufthansa holds almost 25 percent of Condor.
Excuse me Sr Tajani (current EU Commissioner for Transportation) - are you paying attention or are you so consumed with rescuing your national airline that you don't care about the consolidation that is occurring.
18 June 2008
New EC Commissioner Confirmed - Tajani now in the hot seat
The Italian Antonio Tajani has now been confirmed as the replacement for Jacques Barrot who moves over the Justice Commissioner.
This move has been welcomed by fellow Italian and head of IATA Giovanni Bisignani. (What's with all these Italians!!!).
Levity aside below you will find the PR release from IATA. However not one mention of the critical issue of Alitalia which remains the number one urgent practical issue in front of the new Commissioner.
Mr Tajani will have his hands full. We wish him the best of luck and hope that he displays wisdom in his handling of these critical issues.
PR Release follows
IATA Welcomes EC VP Tajani’s Single European Sky Priority
Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) congratulated Antonio Tajani on his confirmation as Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transport.
“Vice President Tajani has picked the right priorities, starting with delivering a Single European Sky (SES),” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “We’ve been talking about a SES for decades. Now is the time to make it a reality. An effective SES would help alleviate two critical issues related to fuel burn. First, with oil in the US$135 a barrel (Brent) range, the industry fuel bill will balloon to over US$176 billion this year. Already we have seen 24 airlines go bust and thousands of layoffs. An effective SES would shave EUR5.5 billion off the fuel bill with more efficient air traffic management. And it would reduce carbon emissions from airlines by as much as 12 million tonnes. I am confident that Vice President Tajani will deliver the political will to turn the technical solutions into reality,” said Bisignani.
Bisignani also encouraged Vice President Tajani to weigh-in on Europe’s misguided debate on bringing aviation into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). “First, the timing is wrong. Bringing aviation into Europe’s ETS was conceived when oil was at US$60 a barrel. Today, with the price more than double that, it’s a completely different world. If oil stays at the current price level for the next 12 months, airlines will face US$99 billion in extra fuel costs. Airlines have the biggest incentive of any industry to improve environmental performance. With jobs disappearing from the industry already, I hope that Vice President Tajani will bring a strong message that this is not the time for reckless decisions that could put more jobs at risk,” said Bisignani.
Bisignani emphasised the illegal nature of Europe’s unilateral approach. “All this effort at a time of crisis for something that is illegal makes no sense. Countries in the developed and developing world are opposed to Europe’s unilateral approach - and rightly so. What right does Europe have to charge non-European carriers for emissions outside European territory? I encourage Vice President Tajani to bring a strong reality check to his Commission colleagues: the best thing that Europe can do to tackle the important issue of aviation and the environment is to facilitate a global solution through the International Civil Aviation Organization - a UN body with a proven track record of promoting global standards,” said Bisignani.
Bisignani noted that the aviation industry takes responsibility for its 2% of global carbon emissions seriously. “Our vision to achieve carbon neutral growth sets the benchmark for other industries to follow. And our four-pillar strategy based on technology, operations, infrastructure and positive economic measures is delivering results. Last year IATA’s efforts delivered 10.5 million tonnes of CO2 savings. If Vice President Tajani is successful with SES, we will deliver much more,” said Bisignani.
This move has been welcomed by fellow Italian and head of IATA Giovanni Bisignani. (What's with all these Italians!!!).
Levity aside below you will find the PR release from IATA. However not one mention of the critical issue of Alitalia which remains the number one urgent practical issue in front of the new Commissioner.
Mr Tajani will have his hands full. We wish him the best of luck and hope that he displays wisdom in his handling of these critical issues.
PR Release follows
IATA Welcomes EC VP Tajani’s Single European Sky Priority
Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) congratulated Antonio Tajani on his confirmation as Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transport.
“Vice President Tajani has picked the right priorities, starting with delivering a Single European Sky (SES),” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “We’ve been talking about a SES for decades. Now is the time to make it a reality. An effective SES would help alleviate two critical issues related to fuel burn. First, with oil in the US$135 a barrel (Brent) range, the industry fuel bill will balloon to over US$176 billion this year. Already we have seen 24 airlines go bust and thousands of layoffs. An effective SES would shave EUR5.5 billion off the fuel bill with more efficient air traffic management. And it would reduce carbon emissions from airlines by as much as 12 million tonnes. I am confident that Vice President Tajani will deliver the political will to turn the technical solutions into reality,” said Bisignani.
Bisignani also encouraged Vice President Tajani to weigh-in on Europe’s misguided debate on bringing aviation into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). “First, the timing is wrong. Bringing aviation into Europe’s ETS was conceived when oil was at US$60 a barrel. Today, with the price more than double that, it’s a completely different world. If oil stays at the current price level for the next 12 months, airlines will face US$99 billion in extra fuel costs. Airlines have the biggest incentive of any industry to improve environmental performance. With jobs disappearing from the industry already, I hope that Vice President Tajani will bring a strong message that this is not the time for reckless decisions that could put more jobs at risk,” said Bisignani.
Bisignani emphasised the illegal nature of Europe’s unilateral approach. “All this effort at a time of crisis for something that is illegal makes no sense. Countries in the developed and developing world are opposed to Europe’s unilateral approach - and rightly so. What right does Europe have to charge non-European carriers for emissions outside European territory? I encourage Vice President Tajani to bring a strong reality check to his Commission colleagues: the best thing that Europe can do to tackle the important issue of aviation and the environment is to facilitate a global solution through the International Civil Aviation Organization - a UN body with a proven track record of promoting global standards,” said Bisignani.
Bisignani noted that the aviation industry takes responsibility for its 2% of global carbon emissions seriously. “Our vision to achieve carbon neutral growth sets the benchmark for other industries to follow. And our four-pillar strategy based on technology, operations, infrastructure and positive economic measures is delivering results. Last year IATA’s efforts delivered 10.5 million tonnes of CO2 savings. If Vice President Tajani is successful with SES, we will deliver much more,” said Bisignani.
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