Originally Posted by Bloomberg

The Italian government is assessing several candidates to head a new state-controlled company to run failed carrier Alitalia SpA, newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reported without saying where it got the information.

A leading candidate is former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV executive Alfredo Altavilla, the newspaper said, adding that no decision has been taken. The government is also considering switching Alitalia’s partnership to Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Star Alliance, abandoning a current tie-up with Delta Air Lines Inc. and SkyTeam, the paper said.

Originally Posted by Flightglobal

Alitalia will need to evaluate carefully future transatlantic alliances as part of its strategy when the restructured company emerges from the air transport crisis, Italy’s economic development minister states.

Minister Stefano Patuanelli says the reshaped carrier’s business plan needs to “focus strongly” on long-haul transport, with “new” transatlantic alliances among the considerations for the management team – adding that he does not believe “stand-alone” is an option.

He did not elaborate on the alliance remarks while addressing the upper house of the Italian parliament on 7 May, but said: “I believe long-haul is one of the big assets in which to invest.”

Alitalia is a member of the SkyTeam alliance but was absent from a transatlantic joint-venture pact approved last year between SkyTeam carriers Delta Air Lines, Air France and KLM, which also included Delta’s UK partner Virgin Atlantic.