Alitalia is set to hire investment bankers to manage a possible sale out of administration, as the govt-appointed commissioners of the carrier set a quick timeline of roughly 2 months for potential offers. Luigi Gubitosi, one of the 3 commissioners, said Alitalia was conducting a “beauty contest” for investment banks this week and would make a choice shortly after. Next week, Alitalia will formally launch the sale process, with plans to open its data room in June and receive non-binding bids in July. The carrier is racing against the clock: if it does not secure a buyer by the end of October it could face liquidation. Amid concern that Alitalia may be of limited interest to potential buyers, the commissioners said they would cast the net wide. “The ideal partner does not exist,” said Gubitosi. “We don’t have a profile for what we want". <br/>
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Kenya Airways is about to conclude its capital restructuring, its chairman said Wednesday, edging closer to putting past financial woes behind it. The airline sank into the red 4 years ago after tourism slumped following a spate of attacks in Kenya by militants from the Somalia-based al Shabaab Islamist group. Last year the carrier had negative equity of E$339m and the business was sustained by shareholder loans. Its financial predicament caused delays in paying staff, industrial action and the ousting of CE Mbuvi Ngunze, who is being replaced by Sebastian Mikosz, a Polish national who has prior experience of turning around an ailing airline. “We are heading towards a conclusion on the capital-restructuring. We hope now that we will conclude this end of June, middle of July,” Michael Joseph, the airline’s chairman, said. <br/>
Delta Air Lines plans to shrink the business class cabin on its Boeing 777-200 aircraft when it installs new suites in the coming years. The carrier plans to configure the business class cabin, or Delta One, with 28 lie-flat seats in "mini-suites", it says in a filing with the FAA. This is nearly a quarter fewer than the current 37 lie-flat seats in business class on the aircraft today. "Delta regularly evaluates optimal cabin configurations that reflect demand for premium seating and customer comfort," a spokeswoman for Delta says. "With the addition of Delta premium select [premium economy] on the 777, we have provided even more premium seating options for our customers on-board." The airline will continue to offer 9-abreast seating in economy, she adds. <br/>