Etihad pushes to agree Alitalia deal this month: CEO

Etihad Airways chief James Hogan said on Wednesday he aimed to complete negotiations on buying 49 per cent of Alitalia by the end of the month but stressed the company had to be "right-sized" first.

"We're all focussed on the end of this month. With our agreement, more time is allowed but our focus is the end of the month," Hogan said during a visit to Italy, where he was launching a new Etihad route between Abu Dhabi and Rome.

"We are in the final stages of the negotiations. We do need to right-size the airline," he said, as Alitalia management continued talks with unions for around 1,600 job cuts.

"We don't step into these negotiations unless we're convinced the airline will move to profitability.

"If we complete, we'll complete with the right foundation. The key issue is getting the cost base right," he said.

Alitalia "needs to be re-energised and brought back alive," he continued, adding: "A re-energised Alitalia could be one of the most successful airlines in Europe but to achieve that we have to have the right starting point."

Alitalia said it had agreed a job cuts plan with unions representing 80 per cent of the workforce although Italy's biggest trade union, the CGIL, has not given its go-ahead.

It has also negotiated a deal with current stakeholders to renegotiate Alitalia's debt of about 565 million euros ($765 million).

Asked about the future role for Air France-KLM, an existing shareholder, Hogan said: "Air France and KLM and Delta are all very important partners. We expect that relationship to continue."

The Emirates national carrier -- based in Abu Dhabi -- is planning to buy a 49-per cent stake in the debt-laden Italian flag carrier, which currently employs 12,800 people.

Etihad's initial investment is expected to be around 560 million euros ($762 million), and 660 million euros more has been mooted in future to develop the airline.

Etihad has expanded hugely since it was founded in 2003 and now has stakes in India's Jet Airways, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Aer Lingus and Air Berlin.

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Etihad rescues crippled Alitalia with deal to take 49%

Emirates airline Etihad Airways tied up a deal to rescue debt-laden carrier Alitalia on Wednesday by taking 49.0 percent of the Italian company.

The two groups gave no details of the value of the deal or of any conditions, but two key issues are huge debt and overstaffing at Alitalia which has lurched from crisis to crisis for years.

The deal, concluding tough negotiations which began at the end of last year, means that Etihad Airways is in effect rescuing Alitalia, playing a role which Air France once considered but then dropped because of the scale of the problems.

The agreement also marks a big step in the rise of Etihad Airways a young and rapidly growing company, which becomes a key shareholder in one of the old names of European aviation, and increases its reach into European markets and global routes.

Alitalia is now in the hands of private shareholders, but has its roots in the days when most European countries had their own state-owned airlines.

In recent years it has lurched from crisis to crisis, skirting bankruptcy, and beset by restructuring efforts and conflicts with staff.

The debt and staff cuts are believed to have been central sticking points in the negotiations.

Alitalia employs 12,800 and it is believed that about 2,200 jobs will have to be axed.

Etihad Airways has expanded rapidly in recent years, largely on a rise of air travel in the Gulf region of the Middle East.

In a joint statement, which provided no details, the two airlines said they had agreed the "terms and conditions of a proposed transaction whereby Etihad Airways will acquire a 49 percent equity stake in Alitalia."

They said they would tie up the deal as soon as possible subject to approval from regulators.

The chief executive at Alitalia, Gabriele del Torchio, said early in June that Alitalia would have to face a "complex, exhausting and painful" restructuring, but that there was "no alternative".

And he mentioned 2,200 job cuts.

Italian Transport Minister, Maurizio Lupi, in a warning on Monday to Italian trade unions which are strongly opposed to job cuts, said that Alitalia had but two options: "the plan for recovery with Etihad, or the abyss."

On June 11, Lupi mentioned that Etihad might make an initial investment of 560 million euros ($762 million). To this might be added "690 million euros in four years for the development and renewal of the fleet of aircraft."

The outlook with Etihad as a key shareholder is causing deep concern in northern Italy in case it reduces activity at Milan's Malpensa airport.

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Alitalia board gives green light to Etihad deal

The board of struggling Italian airline Alitalia has approved a tie-up proposal with the Emirati carrier Etihad Airways, a company statement said on Friday.

Alitalia chairman Roberto Colaninno and chief executive Gabriele Del Torchio are charged with negotiating details of the deal with the Abu Dhabi airline, said the statement issued after a marathon meeting.

Etihad has for months been negotiating to buy up to 49 per cent of the stricken Italian flag carrier, which is facing bankruptcy.

But talks have have stumbled over Alitalia's heavy debt load and forecast cuts to some 2,200 jobs, out of a total of 12,800, as part of the deal.

Officials in northern Italy have also raised concerns over the potential impact on Milan's Malpensa airport, which they fear could be seriously penalised by the deal.

Detailed talks on all those issues were set to continue despite Friday's green light.

Del Torchio, quoted by Italian news agency ANSA, said after Friday's talks that negotiations with banks on Alitalia's debt burden were "continuing in the right direction."

"It takes time, since it involves a large sum. But everyone clearly wants to reach a solution with Etihad."

On the jobs front, new talks between Alitalia management and unions were set for Monday, Italian media said.

Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi warned earlier this week that negotiations would have to be wrapped up by mid-July on the tie-up with Etihad, which he said was prepared to invest up to 1.25 billion euros in Alitalia by 2018

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Alitalia may lose 2,200 jobs in tie-up with Etihad

Struggling Italian airline Alitalia will have to shed 2,200 jobs as part of its planned tie-up with Etihad Airways, which has promised to invest 560 million euros ($760 million), the head of the Italian airline said on Monday.

Negotiations have been running for months for the Emirati airline to take a 49 per cent stake in Alitalia, which currently employs 12,800 people and is facing bankruptcy.

The Italian airline will have to go through a restructuring that is "complex, tiring and painful -- there is no alternative," said Gabriele del Torchio, Alitalia's chief executive, on the sidelines of a conference in Rome.

It had previously said as many as 2,500 jobs were on the line.

The airline's management hopes to finalise a deal on the company's debt by Friday.

Del Torchio said talks with banking creditors were "very advanced", and that they were demanding "a sacrifice".

"I think it will take only a few weeks to conclude the deals with Etihad," he said, adding that a successful deal would send "an important signal" about Italy to foreign investors.

AirFrance-KLM also owns a stake in Alitalia, but chose not to pursue taking over the Italian airline after it could not get similar guarantees on deep restructuring to make it profitable.

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Etihad boss meets Italian PM with Alitalia deal close: Ansa

Etihad Airways boss James Hogan met with Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Thursday, as his company nears a deal to purchase a stake in debt-laden Alitalia airline, Italian media reported.

The meeting took place in the prime minister's official residence with Renzi's right-hand man cabinet secretary Graziano Delrio also attending.

The Ansa news agency cited sources saying that a deal on could be in place "within hours".

On Tuesday, Italy's Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi told a Senate hearing that Abu Dhabi-based Etihad had completed its assessment on whether to purchase a stake in Alitalia and that a draft deal could be imminent.

Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore also on Tuesday said Etihad was planning to buy a stake of around 40 per cent, which would make it by far the biggest shareholder in the carrier and respect the 49.9-percent limit for non-European airlines.

It also said Etihad could invest between 300 million and 500 million euros ($414 million and $690 million) in return for a restructuring plan that would include up to 3,000 job cuts and an upgrade of infrastructure.

Alitalia in February reached a deal with trade unions for the equivalent of 1,900 job cuts and in September last year shareholders gave unanimous approval for a capital increase to save the airline from bankruptcy.

Etihad is expanding rapidly and has bought minor shares in several smaller carriers including Air Berlin and India's Jet Airways as it competes with larger Gulf rivals Emirates and Qatar Airways.

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Volcanic eruption shuts Italy airport

The eruption of the Mount Etna volcano in Sicily on Sunday forced the closure of nearby Catania airport because of the plumes of ash billowing into the sky, airport officials said.

Twenty-one scheduled departures from Catania had to be scrapped and 26 arrivals re-routed to alternative destinations. The smaller airport of Comiso in the area was also closed down.

Sac, the company that manages Catania airport, said in a statement that "the wind direction and intensity" meant the ash was a risk to flights and it had to close off its air space.

Sac said it will review the situation on Monday.

Etna is an active volcano and eruptions are frequent but the latest activity, which began on Saturday, is the most intense in months.

The lava flow down one side of the mountain is visible from Catania and Taormina, a popular seaside resort. Three small earthquakes were also registered around the volcano on Sunday.

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Ryanair steps up flights in Italy as Alitalia suffers

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair announced on Tuesday a major increase in the domestic flights it offers in Italy including launching a hub at Rome's Fiumicino Airport.

The expansion comes a day before the deadline for a crucial capital injection into struggling Italian flag carrier Alitalia which has been on the brink of having its planes grounded, but Ryanair said its move should help the airline in its efforts to restructure.

Ryanair announced it will base six aircraft at Fiumicino, Rome's mostly domestic airport, and slowly transfer the flights it had operated from Ciampino airport and increase to nine the number of domestic Italian routes it flies.

The number of aircraft based there could double within a year as it receives new aircraft from Boeing.

Ryanair said it would continue to develop domestic and international flights from Ciampino, the mostly international airport.

Ryanair said its one-way flights on new domestic routes will start at 49 euros ($66) including taxes, compared to 75 euros on Alitalia flights.

Nevertheless Ryanair said this would benefit Alitalia as it would ensure the feeding of passengers into the international flights it operates from Fiumicino.

"Ryanair will guarantee that connectivity to Rome and to southern Italy will be maintained regardless of Alitalia's plans to reduce capacity on domestic routes," said Ryanair's deputy chief executive Michael Crawley in a statement.

The Irish airline said it was willing to cooperate with Alitalia, an offer the Italian company swiftly rejected.

"Alitalia thanks Ryanair for its proposal to collaborate at Rome Fiumicino airport, but we have our own strategy..." said the Italian airline.

A 300-million-euro Alitalia capital subscription expires on Wednesday.

Air France-KLM, which owns a 25 percent stake in Alitalia, has said it won't participate as it believes the restructuring plan put forward by the company won't lower costs sufficiently to make the airline successful.

The Italian government is looking for another major international airline to partner with Alitalia.

The state-owned Italian postal service has been tapped to contribute up to 75 million euros in the capital increase, triggering rivals' allegations of illegal protectionism.

Alitalia says Italian banks are also lined up to lend it 200 million euros.

The airline was already bailed out by taxpayers five years ago in a controversial operation that handed a consortium of private Italian companies a majority stake, part of which was later sold to Air France-KLM.

But it still struggled and racked up losses, with its debt now standing at 1.2 billion euros.

It was nearly grounded last month when Italian energy group ENI threatened to stop fuel supplies because of unpaid debts.

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Three injured as plane veers off Rome runway

A Romanian plane carrying 50 passengers veered off the runway while landing at Rome's Fiumicino airport on Saturday, injuring three people who were rushed to hospital, authorities said.

The ATR 72 turboprop plane of the Romanian airline Carpatair arriving from Pisa finished up at an angle on grass with its landing gear damaged, emergency services and airport officials said.

One of the three people hospitalised, a Romanian flight crew member, was said to have suffered spinal injuries but his condition was not life-threatening.

Another of those hurt had pelvic injuries.

Investigators were attempting to establish the cause of the accident, with bad weather -- winds and rain may have made the landing difficult -- or pilot error suspected.

A passenger on the plane told Ansa that the plane had touched down twice. "The second time the landing gear was bent out of shape and we ended up off the runway."

He described scenes of panic and screaming.

The Rome airport remained open though one of its runways was closed.

According to Italian media, several recent incidents have shed an unfavourable light on the partnership between Alitalia and Carpatair.

The Carpatair plane involved in Saturday's accident was carrying out an Alitalia flight.

In a statement Alitalia said that "strong winds" had forced the plane off the runway and announced the suspension of all its flights operated by Carpatair from Pisa and Bologna.

Last month, a Carpatair flight between Ancona and Rome made an emergency landing soon after take-off.

Earlier in January, another of the Romanian company's planes was forced to make a U-turn following cabin pressure problems which obliged passengers to use oxygen masks.

On January 10 the company issued a statement, denying any reliability problems and denouncing a "media campaign" against it fuelled by "Italian trade unions and pilots" unhappy with Carpatair's partnership with Alitalia.

Carpatair signed the flight-sharing deal with Alitalia last September.

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Not exactly a smooth landing by the pilots but it is very fortunate that there was no catastrophic consequences. Bad weather landing is never easy and if the pilot doesn't have 100% confidence in landing it safely, then he should have done a go-around. For this case, the "second touchdown" was probably too heavy which broke the landing gear.