A cabinet meeting has been called Thursday to approve a delay in the sales process of Alitalia and the repayment of a bridge loan, two government sources said Wednesday. On April 11 the Italian Industry ministry said it had received three offers for Alitalia, one of which, from Lufthansa, contained improved terms. The ministry said on that occasion a decree would be approved shortly to extend the sales process and repayment of the bridge loan beyond an April 30 deadline. Two days ago Europe’s antitrust said it had launched a procedure to see if the E900m bridge loan Rome granted the airline constituted state aid.<br/>
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Delta and Korean Air will launch their planned joint venture on 1 May, meeting the tight deadline they set for implementation less than a month ago. The SkyTeam Alliance carriers will launch the immunised partnership on routes between Asia and the USA, and beyond points in both regions, a notice filed with the US Department of Transportation on 23 April shows. It has a term of at least 10 years. Delta and Korean Air will jointly plan capacity, pricing, revenue management, and sales, coordinate schedules, and offer reciprocal frequent flier benefits under the joint venture. The tie-up will allow Delta and Korean Air to counter the immunised partnerships of American Airlines and Japan Airlines, and United Airlines and All Nippon Airways across the Pacific.<br/>