There are just two days to go before a consortium led by Italy’s state-owned railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) is expected to submit a binding business plan mapping out the rescue of Alitalia and its participants. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr contends the German group is ready to assist Alitalia with its turnaround, however, Lufthansa will not invest in the struggling Italian carrier before it is fully restructured. “We have not changed our position. In the current Alitalia, we will not invest. But we would be interested in being the commercial partner to turn the company into a successful airline. Once it is a successful airline, we also see ourselves investing,” Spohr said, speaking at the IATA Wings of Change Europe conference in Berlin on Tuesday.
“It will be very challenging for Alitalia to be successful on their own. You need partners, nowadays, to be successful,” Spohr asserted. “Swiss needed a partner, Austrian Airlines needed a partner, Brussels Airlines needed a partner, even Lufthansa needs a partner,” he noted, referring to the different network airlines belonging to the Lufthansa group. “What we are telling the Italians is that, much more important than who is investing the last 10 percent [in the rescue consortium], is the question; are you on your own in Europe, or do you have a strong partner, a partner with a strong frequent flier program, with support and a sales team in China, Canada, Latin America? We have all that. We can offer that. Others are willing to offer a 10 percent investment. It is up to the Italians to decide what is the most important,” said Spohr.
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