Bankrupt again, this time Alitalia will struggle to find rescuer

After its second bankruptcy filing in a decade, Alitalia’s survival hinges once again on luring a buyer prepared to put the attractions of the Italian travel market ahead of the risk of pouring money into one of Europe’s most notoriously unprofitable businesses. Only this time round, there may be no takers. Alitalia’s 2008 rescue saw it emerge from the ashes of its 60 year-old predecessor through a merger with ailing rival Air One that was financed by a roster of Italy’s leading banks and orchestrated by a govt shareholder unwilling to let a well-known national brand go. Since then it has lost almost E3b (US$3.3b). What’s more, the govt no longer owns a stake and has said several times that re-nationalisation is out of the question, while UniCredit revealed last month that it alone lost almost E500m in the bailout. <br/>