Lufthansa offers E250m to take on most of Alitalia's fleet, half of staff

Lufthansa has offered E250m to take on most of Alitalia's fleet and half of its staff, a source said Tuesday. Alitalia, which has made a profit only a few times in its 70-year history, was put under special administration earlier this year after staff rejected a plan to cut jobs and salaries. Lufthansa is one of seven companies that submitted binding offers. Representatives from the German carrier, including the head of Lufthansa's Italian airline Air Dolomiti, will meet with the three commissioners managing Alitalia Thursday to discuss their offer, sources said. A source said this was not the first meeting on the Lufthansa plan and was unlikely to yield significant progress. According to the first source, Lufthansa offered to keep around 90-100 Alitalia planes, down from a fleet of 123.<br/>