Well, indeed, IAG may have been a better partner than the LH group, particularly given that LH appears to be reeling in the current circumstances. Reports in recent weeks have suggested that IAG may have been sniffing around Austrian Airlines, though it's probably not a great time for IAG to be seen to be out looking to buy other airlines when Iberia is in negotiation for some form of Government support, and BA is threatening massive job cuts.

I'm not privy to the thinking behind those that decided in the above articles that AZ was somehow on its way towards Star Alliance, but I suspect that it comes from a perspective that Alitalia was already visibly moving away from its previous "partners" in AFKL and DL, and that if it were to require some kind of new "partnership", that would most likely have come in the shape of LH or the LH group.

That said, I don't really see any particular need or benefit to AZ being in any alliance. They previously were restricted by their Skyteam partners and couldn't freely add the TATL routes that they themselves wanted without the approval of their TATL JV partners - which of course meant that they would have to share these revenues. With AZ frozen out of the purported new JV (AFKLDLVS) this may not have been a restriction on AZ and they may have been free to add TATL services as they pleased, without having to consult with AFKLDL, in the manner that UX has enjoyed.

As such, neither leaving Skyteam, nor joining an alternate alliance, whether Star Alliance or oneworld, appears to be of great import to Alitalia at this juncture.