Is it possible for a rail vehicle to beat the competition from airplanes? Yes, if that vehicle is a high-speed train. And for Alitalia, between now and 2016, the competition risks becoming even "unsustainable", at least on internal routes. The confession comes directly from the managing director of the national airline, Andrea Ragnetti, who foresees a difficult future mainly due to the ruthless rivalry between Fs and Ntv.
La Repubblica reports, underlining that probably the escape route for the company has already been marked and passes through the Gulf company Etihad, which aims to buy shares in Sky Team, Air France and Alitalia.
At the moment, however, the most serious problems remain to be reckoned with. Ragnetti confirms the operating break-even target for next year, but also reveals that the first quarter of 2013 will probably be the worst ever for airlines.
Meanwhile, the available cash resources are running out: the obligation to recapitalize is one step away, but the small shareholders are clattering and trying to return the shares to the hands of Intesa Sanpaolo.
To overcome the situation, Alitalia's top management would like to bring the capital back into balance with one or more spin-offs. In this way, some assets that have not been advertised up to now, but which could be of interest to more than one buyer, would be spun off.
