Alitalia dropped from expanded Delta-Air France pact

Alitalia is out of the expanded joint venture between Delta and its partners Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic Airways. The Italian carrier was not included in an amended joint venture application filed by Air France-KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic with US authorities on 20 July, with the airlines citing its ongoing restructuring for the move. "Although the parties hope to implement metal-neutral cooperation with Alitalia in the future, Alitalia is currently undergoing restructuring through the Italian bankruptcy process, and its future ownership structure is uncertain," the applicants say in the filing with the US DoT. Alitalia has been part of the immunised Air France, KLM and Delta pact since 2010. Air France-KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic announced plans to consolidate their separate joint venture agreements – between Air France, Delta and KLM, and Delta and Virgin Atlantic – into a single accord covering the transatlantic market in July 2017. At the time executives said that Alitalia would be included in the partnership, however none of the Italian carrier's management participated in media events and its hubs were left out of initial promotional material.<br/>