Alitalia MilleMiglia - AZ Take-over. And The Winner Is...

AFKL !!!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4Dt9hHcrzb0&refer=home

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7163153.stm

AFKL !!!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4Dt9hHcrzb0&refer=home

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7163153.stm

I think the real winner is AP since they escaped without getting lumbered with AZ ;)

I think we are now considering an integration of AZ within a larger group, rather than a take-over, and this will soon become a merger, as in the case of AF with KL. I, for one, am very glad of this move and look forward to having Alitalia join the portfolio of strong brands with Air France and KLM. ^

for one, am very glad of this move and look forward to having Alitalia join the portfolio of strong brands with Air France and KLM. ^Be careful what you ask for JOUY31; pretty soon you'll see all of us in the AF forum, and your moderator duties will increase substantially!

:D

BTW, I see AF is launching direct LAX-LHR, and AZ is starting direct LAX-FCO. I think both start the end of March. Almost seems like the joint plans are well underway...

(correction: it looks like AZ doesn't start LAX-FCO until May)

Is there any news on whether there will be labor unrest in the near future as a result of this decision? I am travelling to Milan in a few days (not on Alitalia, but Lufthansa) and am wondering about the threats I have read in the past to "block the roads" to Malpensa if the government went with Air France/KLM.

I had not seen any official reaction from any Italian unions.

[...]I, for one, am very glad of this move and look forward to having Alitalia join the portfolio of strong brands with Air France and KLM. ^

Air France, KLM and (as of this week) VLM :)

They bought one profit making airline and one loss making one. Bringing AZ into profitability will be hard but AFKL have the resources to do it.

For those unfamiliar with VLM they're the largest operator out of LCY so considering CityJet (AF) also has a large presence there it means AFKL run a sizable majority of the flights from LCY. BA are increasing their presence at LCY in 2008 so from a business perspective this is a good move by AFKL. They operate a Fokker 50 fleet (+ 1 jet), but they offer a much improved catering offering over KLC - let's see how long that'll last.

According to an Italian newspaper, Il Sole-24 Ore, as in the case of KL, AF is planning on keeping AZ as a separate company where Italian interests hold 51% of the voting rights. At the group level, this would result in having France hold a 17,8% stake, Italy a 3% stake, while staff would have about 11.5%l.

while staff would have about 11.5%.
So if they go on strike, they're striking against themselves (as if that makes any difference). What percentage is in the hands of staff now?

So if they go on strike, they're striking against themselves (as if that makes any difference). What percentage is in the hands of staff now?

It was 14.1% on March 31st, 2006.

According to La Triibune, Dutch members of the management of AF/KL would seem to be reluctant to go forward with the integration of AZ into the group for two reasons :
- the memory of the failure of KL to integrate with AZ in 2000, which resulted in KL being condemned to pay EUR 250 million as damages to AZ
- the risk of a slightly diminished influence in the resulting group; although KL was about half the size of AF, KL managed in 2004 to preserve a balanced management team for several years; with the integration of a third partner, the balance of power could increasingly take the effective economic weight of each of the three partners into consideration.

I personally hope that the negotiations for the integration of AZ into the group will not be hampered by such considerations. As La Tribune also mentions, AF managed to restructure itself, integrate Air Inter, Regional, KLM, Flandre Air, UTA ... The integration of AZ is IMO a great opportunity to make AZ successful again and a strategic asset for the group as the market undergoes another round of deregulation and concentration. Continued integration at the European level, launch of the AF/DL JV, to be merged at a later stage with the NW/KL JV, what then is next ? Anything in Asia, one of the fastest growing market ?

I see AF is launching direct LAX-LHR, and AZ is starting direct LAX-FCO.

And of course KL already flies direct LAX-AMS... and does AF already go LAX-CDG? I haven't flown that route yet, if they do.

And of course KL already flies direct LAX-AMS... and does AF already go LAX-CDG? I haven't flown that route yet, if they do.

AF has 2 to 3 daily flights to LAX :). The third one is the flight that is sold as continuing onward to PPT, although there may be a change of aircraft.

It would be interesting to see Alitalia at LAX's Terminal 2 (just an assumption) along with NZ, AC, KL,AF, NW, etc... Last time they served from MXP, they used TBIT. Ah those MD-11s... they were a nice sight here at LAX.

Regards,
Angeleno228