Escape from Alitalia, second act. After the surrender of Paris, the retreat of Moscow. Aeroflot pulled out of the reorganization of the former Italian flag carrier. The Russian carrier "does not plan to acquire Alitalia or provide financial support," said a company source.
Just 24 hours earlier, Air France-KLM had announced its no to a 300 million euro capital increase approved by Alitalia last month, opening a very uncertain scenario for the former national airline in a liquidity crisis.
In recent months, the media have mentioned two other possible interests in the Italian company: Etihad Airways and Hainan. But both the UAE carrier and the Chinese were quick to deny.
Today, however, Il Messaggero writes that at the beginning of next week, probably as early as Monday the 18th, an emissary from the government or from Italian partners will leave for Dubai to start negotiations with Etihad and convince the emirs to close the deal quickly.
The gulf company, adds the newspaper, would be ready to take over a minority stake through a combination of share purchase and capital increase.
