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Alitalia may start canceling flights -- can't afford fuel
Alitalia has been going through a bit of a rough patch of late. Even before the fuel crisis this past summer, Italy's national airline was already struggling with poor service, unhappy unions and terrible management. Now, with costs going through the roof the airline is in some serious financial trouble.Through the course of the summer, Alitalia has been looking for ways out of it's tangle. For a while, we thought that Air France and KLM, the French and Dutch Skyteam partners, were going to usurp their counterparts, until unions and politicians weighed in on the deal and the buyers decided to back out.
Since then, the Italian government has been arguing about a few different options including a government takeover, but none have really matured to the point of stability.
Which brings us to Monday morning, which, after months of squabbling and mismanagement, has led to the airline still without strong leadership, with angry unions and with not enough fuel to fill its airplanes. According to the BBC, unless the airline comes up with some some significant cash or a strategy today, they "cannot guarantee" flights into the week.
As of this morning the airline is still in talks to be taken over by a Italian consortium of companies (including Benetton?) and merge with AirOne with plans to cut over 3,000 jobs, but nothing has been finalized. Keep an eye on your Alitalia flight if you've got one booked in the next week. It could be a rough week.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Strider Sep 15th 2008 2:11PM
Certainly another sign of the times.
MISS RICH Sep 15th 2008 3:11PM
Ooooooh - that's too Bad
MISS 8:08
PS I Love Italy
Traveler Sep 15th 2008 2:28PM
I can relate............
robert franklin Sep 15th 2008 4:00PM
more bushcheneyrove work. it's all around us. hang on folks, the Dalibama will soon be here to save us.
Tom Sep 15th 2008 4:09PM
Poor management fraught with unions which do not understand business is a disaster to any business. Not only is this airline affected but so are US Car companies and other major corporations where years ago poor treatment of employees led to unionization and the inevitable lack of ability to complete in a global market with countries where the desire to get ahead transcended the thought of individual greed.
cal10pilot Sep 15th 2008 5:11PM
YES...LET THE GOVERNMENT TAKE IT OVER...SEE HOW WELL IT WORKED IN THE U.S.? THE PILOTS ARE NOW MINIMUM WAGE EARNERS, BUT DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS HAPPENED. WOULD YOU TRUST THEIR JUDGEMENT? SIGN ME OFF AS 'NOT WILLING TO WORK FOR CRUMBS.'
John Sep 15th 2008 6:10PM
Coal is abundant, cheap and relatively friendly to the envirnoment. Alitalia should re-equip its airplanes for coal use.
Dean Sep 15th 2008 6:26PM
Please try working on your spelling before writing anymore comments;good or bad.
AB Sep 15th 2008 6:59PM
Oh, yeah! Let's buy an airline... Remember UAL's ESOP and how the pilots and mechanics unions pushed and pushed for that. Even then, they ignored the facts that the average return on airlines stocks for 20 years before ESOP was less than 4%. Every time I tried to talk any pilot or mechanic about this and said, "let's buy into Google or any bio stock" I was treated as a know nothing, little person. We were told we were saving the airline. What a bunch of ignorant sob's... and yet, you coud not talk to them because they will always think they are better and know more than the little guy.
Bob Sep 15th 2008 6:58PM
It is time to teach those oil nations that have been raising the oil prices. The world needs to stop buying their oil. Yes I said stop. We need to keep teir gold we use to pay their oil with. Stop suppling then with water filters that produce their water. Stop selling them material for their clothing send them only pink. and post pictures of naked women all over their skys. it is time to teach those ba____ds a lesson. Hurt them where it hurts the most. Muslins are not the way of the world Christians are Mohamid is a fairy and Mecca is the city dump.
G.L. Sep 15th 2008 7:12PM
That's really sad. That's really pathetic. An airline company can afford to muti-million dollar aircraft, but they can't afford to put fuel in the tanks. That's really pathetic.
G.L. Sep 15th 2008 7:37PM
That's really sad. That's really pathetic. An airline company can afford to buy and insure multi-million dollar aircraft, but they can't afford to keep fuel in the tanks. Thaat's really pathetic.
rob Sep 15th 2008 8:03PM
Alitalia has been a MESS for years and the Unions will undoubtedly put THE FINAL NAIL in it's coffin. Whereas the employee's MAY Need to Make Some Concessions to keep their jobs, they should be fortunate to even have an AirOne, AF/KLM or Lufthansa WANT to even get tangled up with such a BAD airline. (I work for an airline and know HOW BAD things could get....and Alitalia is B-A-D!)
ben Sep 15th 2008 8:39PM
PISS POOR MANAGEMENT. I bet the senor officers of this airline get big paychecks to this day
Rick Sep 15th 2008 9:38PM
Nothing new for Alitalia. They have been offered bailouts in the past, however, Alitalia has rejected those offers because of the idiotic unions who control everything in Italy. The Unions have called several strikes the past few years, shutting down the airline and other industries. Air France & KLM offered to absorb Alitalia earlier this year & the Unions rejected the offer because Alitalia would have to cut employees.
So they get what they deserve - thousands of employees will lost their jobs now if the airline collapses. Alitalia has had a history of lousy service, arrogant staff, terrible in-flight service & bad aircraft.
Employees knew that could not get fired with their Union backing, so they gave the minimal crappy service.
The Italian Unions have done it again - they are all crooks and mobsters. The airline deserves to go out of business.
Gary Sep 15th 2008 11:02PM
Alitalia running out of money? Just borrow some from the Pope, he's the richest guy in all Italy, even has his own private Alitalia plane "Pope 1"!
mari Sep 15th 2008 11:47PM
It is time to charge them outrageous prices for everything that they need, tools, technology, cars, machinery,medicine, building materials,etc, etc. Also , it should be against all of the OPEC nations too including Venezuela. They are all reaping the benefits of these outrageous fuel prices. To do just against the Muslim countries would be wrong.
otrpu Sep 15th 2008 11:30PM
Better to cancel my flight than to try and coast alittle too far
Brenda Sep 16th 2008 12:05AM
Just pray every time you go on an airplane that there is enough fuel to get from ine place to the other...It sure is getting scary when it comes to flying...
Barry Sep 16th 2008 12:18AM
You AOL "professional" writers SUCK! Where did you learn to write? "Looking for ways out of IT'S tangle"????? Read by an intelligent person, that phrase reads "looking for ways out of IT IS tangle. With this kind of "professionalism" to look up to, it's no wonder that each new generation becomes more STUPID.