Alitalia starts new life as first flights take off

Italy's former state-controlled airline, Alitalia took to the skies as a revamped, privately-owned carrier on Tuesday after nearly being grounded for good.
Below are some facts about Alitalia and expected changes following its relaunch under new ownership.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT ALITALIA:

- Alitalia began operations on 16 September 1946. Its name derives from a combination of "Ali" -- Italian for wings -- and "Italia".

- When Paul VI became the first pope to fly in a plane, in 1964, he flew Alitalia. Pope Benedict last year prayed for the airline's survival when he left for France on a papal trip.

- Alitalia last reported a profit in 2002, but only because Dutch airline KLM paid 200 million euros to break an alliance.

- Former chairman Maurizio Prato called the airline "cursed", saying only an exorcist could save it after Air France-KLM's takeover of the carrier collapsed last April due to opposition from unions.

- The airline sought bankruptcy protection on 29 Aug., paving the way for the CAI group of Italian investors led by businessman Roberto Colaninno to buy its profitable parts and leave its debt to the Italian state.

WHAT CHANGES UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP?

- A new alliance with Air France-KLM will boost Alitalia's role within the SkyTeam airline alliance and help plug holes in its foreign route map. Air France-KLM gets a 25% stake and cannot increase its shareholding for at least four years under a lock-up arrangement for Italian investors.

- The reshaped airline will fly to 70 destinations -- 23 domestic, 34 international and 13 intercontinental.

- Domestic market share is targeted to rise to 56% from 30%. That compares with domestic market share of 91% for Air France-KLM and 53% for Lufthansa, according to Alitalia.

- Average age of its fleet to fall to 8.6 years from 12.4 years, compared to 9 years for Air France-KLM, 11.4 years for British Airways and 11.9 years for Lufthansa.

ALITALIA and AFKL launch a new strategic partnership

Air France-KLM and Alitalia have reached an agreement to strengthen their partnership, which the French-
Dutch group is taking a minority stake in Alitalia. This agreement will give Air France-KLM greater access to the Italian market thanks to Alitalia which, following its acquisition of Air One, has reinforced its position on the domestic market. It also links Alitalia to the world’s leading air transport group, thereby offering its passengers access to the most powerful network linking Europe to the rest of the world, henceforth organised around a unique combination of hubs from North to Southern Europe.

The new company is born by the fusion of Alitalia and Air One, Italy's second-largest carrier. It is slimmer than its predecessor, with 148 aircraft from both airlines combined, compared with 173 in the old fleet, and about 12,500 employees, down from more than 23,500 between the two carriers.

Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Chairman and Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Chief Executive Officer of Air France-KLM stated “In view of the numerous challenges facing our sector, cooperation between airlines is becoming increasingly necessary, and this partnership represents an important milestone. We are happy with this reinforced partnership with Alitalia, which represents a compelling development opportunity for both our companies, and is in the interest of our shareholders, our customers and our employees”.

Governance

Air France-KLM will be represented on the Alitalia Board by three members out of a total of 19 and on the Executive Committee of the Board by two members out of a total of nine. Elsewhere, a Partnership Manager responsible for implementing the partnership strategy and overseeing the generation of synergies will be appointed for a term of three years, renewable once, and will be appointed on a rotating basis by the two groups. The first such Partnership Manager will be designated by Air France-KLM.

La fondation d'entreprise Air France

La Fondation Air France a été créée en novembre 1992 par le groupe Air France.

Depuis sa création, la Fondation Air France a pour vocation de soutenir des projets en faveur des enfants et des jeunes malades, handicapées ou en grande difficulté, en France et dans les pays où Air France est présente.

Les projets soutenus portent sur deux grands axes d’activité qui sont l’éducation et la formation. Les bénéficiaires des projets sont les enfants et les jeunes de 0 à 20 ans.

Les partenaires de la Fondation Air France sont des associations ou des Organisations Non Gouvernementales (ONG) qui interviennent dans les domaines de l’éducation et de la formation pour l’enfance et la jeunesse en facilitant la réalisation des projets à travers un soutien financier.

New year welcomes first Air France A380

The new year has brought MSN033, the first A380 for Air France (European launch customer), out to the flightline in Toulouse today. This particular airframe was delivered to final assembly in December 2007 and completed its initial body join on 12 February 2008. F-WWSB, which will eventually wear F-HPJA, now has its four GP7200 engines installed and should take its maiden flight within the next two to three weeks. F-HPJA is expected to enter service in April 2009 between Paris and Montreal.

Special thanks to David Barrie for the photograph.