Arrivederci Alitalia? Italy looks for buyers for airline

It could finally be arrivederci for Alitalia, the Italian flag carrier that shuttles the pope around the world. Italy’s government put the airline up for sale this week, seeking expressions of interest from bidders before a June 5 deadline. That followed months of fruitless talks with labor unions and the carrier’s shareholders, including its biggest, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways. Alitalia has racked up years of losses amid competition from a swarm of budget airlines in Europe. Three years ago, Etihad poured in cash to refresh the carrier, retraining cabin crew and replacing fading interiors with Italian-designed leather seats. But that hasn’t been enough. Alitalia has lost billions of dollars over decades, amassing more than $3b in debt. The airline, which hasn’t yet published results, signaled it may have had an operational loss exceeding $600m last year. Italy, Alitalia’s home market, demonstrates the airline’s losing battle to woo customers. In 2010, the carrier commanded 29% of Italy’s domestic market, according to Euromonitor. In 2015, the last year data is available, that had dropped to 25%, in a commercial-aviation market in which rivals typically fight hard for every 10th of a percentage point. The three biggest budget carriers flying in Italy, meanwhile, boosted their share from just over 12% in 2010 to 16% five years later. Ryanair is now the biggest airline in Italy by passenger numbers.<br/>