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Milan: Alitalia SpA, Italy's national airline, moved a step closer to averting a collapse after pilots agreed to a government-backed takeover by a group of business executives.
Unions representing most of Alitalia's 2,500 pilots reached an accord with the CAI group led by Roberto Colaninno early Saturday.
The Rome-based carrier's ground staff had already approved the plan to eliminate about 3,000 jobs and impose longer hours for the same pay. Flight attendants unions said they are "making some progress" and will meet with CAI again today.
"The agreement with pilots allows us to look at coming days with great serenity," Transport Minister Altero Matteoli told Sky TG24 television in an interview broadcast Saturday. "Now we can let planes take off."
Colaninno, the chairman of scooter maker Piaggio & C. SpA, assembled a group of investors who want to merge Alitalia's flight business with domestic competitor Air One SpA to create an airline that controls more than half of the Italian market.
Insolvency
Alitalia was losing $3 million (Dh11 million) a day when it declared insolvency on August 29 to allow the state-backed rescue plan to begin.
Alitalia's bankruptcy administrator warned last week that the carrier didn't have enough cash to survive beyond this month.
The airline, which flew 25 million travellers last year, risked becoming the first major European flagship carrier to collapse since Swissair Group and Belgium's Sabena in 2001.
There will be fewer job cuts for pilots than CAI had originally planned, said Massimo Notaro of the Unione Piloti association. The new proposal includes hiring about 140 part-time pilots and a separate contract for captains, the government said.
Seven of nine Alitalia unions have now signed the agreement, with SDL and Avia, representing most of the flight attendants, still considering the latest terms. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged during his election campaign in April to save Alitalia, which employs about 19,000 people.
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