[Peakoil] from SMH Business day

[Jenny Goldie]

Struggling Alitalia running out of gas


a.. September 15, 2008 - 10:56PM 
ALITALIA'S Italian Government-appointed commissioner told labour union representatives on Saturday that dwindling fuel supplies at the near-bankrupt airline meant it could not guarantee flights for more than another day, news reports said.

"For tomorrow [Sunday] we have our flights guaranteed, but not for Monday. They are no longer supplying us with fuel," the commissioner, Augusto Fantozzi, was reported by ANSA news agency as saying.

He also said Alitalia would begin to lay off flight crews from 34 planes that had been grounded as part of cost-cutting measures, ANSA said.

Mr Fantozzi summoned union representatives for afternoon talks a day after the collapse of their negotiations with a group of private Italian investors, CAI, seeking to take over the state-controlled airline.

Earlier on Saturday, the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, lashed out at the unions, saying their opposition to the government-approved CAI bid was politically motivated. Unions rejected the estimated 7000 job cuts CAI said were necessary to save Alitalia.

"This situation worries me very much," Mr Berlusconi was quoted by ANSA as saying. "I can't understand what is happening and why this suicidal attitude [by the unions] exists. There are political motivations that have nothing to do with the needs of the workers."

Mr Berlusconi said he intended to intervene "personally" in an effort to save Alitalia from bankruptcy, but he did not provide further details.

Before his election victory in April, Mr Berlusconi had campaigned for Alitalia to remain in Italian hands, and he championed CAI's bid as an alternative to one made this year by Air France-KLM.

The French-Dutch airline withdrew its bid, which was supported by Italy's previous centre-left government, when it became clear that Mr Berlusconi, once in office, would oppose it.

It is estimated that Alitalia is losing about 2 million euros ($3.5 million) a day.

Deutsche Press Association
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