Rome creates Alitalia newco on road to nationalisation

After lengthy political infighting, the Italian government has agreed to incorporate a new company which will house the assets of Alitalia (AZ, Rome Fiumicino), a crucial step on the road to relaunching the struggling flag carrier as a wholly state-owned enteprise. The government is also plotting the renewal of the airline’s widebody fleet but first has to clear the process with the European Commission. Late on Friday, October 9, the economy, industry (economic development), transport, and labour ministers signed a decree setting up the new company, local media reported. The European Commission will now have to approve the plan. “Italy’s new national airline was born today,” Transport Minister Paola De Micheli said after the decree was signed. “It is a large industrial operation at the service of the country, in support of the competitiveness of our companies and for the relaunch of Italian tourism.” She elaborated in a Facebook post that the joint-stock company would be called Italia Trasporti Aereo, or Alitalia Ita. “It will be ITAliana because it will have to bring Italy to the world,” she said. “The newco represents the first step towards establishing a quality carrier capable of competing on the international market. We have laid the foundations for the relaunch of Italian air transport,” Roberto Gualtieri, the economy minister, declared. The ministers also formally appointed Francesco Caio, an executive with a background in telecoms and banking, as the new company’s president and Fabio Lazzerini, Alitalia’s chief business officer and a former general manager of Emirates (EK, Dubai Int’l) in Italy, as chief executive. The other directors on the board were named as Lelio Fornabaio, Alessandra Fratini, Simonetta Giordani, Cristina Girelli, Silvio Martuccelli, Frances Vyvyen Ouseley, and Angelo Piazza.