Italian deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio said he sees no risk of failure for talks with EasyJet and Delta Air Lines to relaunch struggling airline Alitalia. “I am very confident because of what I have seen up to now,” Di Maio said. He said the Italian Treasury should take a stake of no more than 15% in the new company, calling the package “a relaunch" not a rescue. “This is a market operation in which Ferrovie dello Stato is drawing up an industrial plan with EasyJet and Delta Air Lines,” Di Maio said, referring to the state rail operator. "So it will be their industrial plan which decides which players are involved." Finance minister Giovanni Tria has said the Treasury will only consider taking a stake in Alitalia if talks between potential investors produce a strong business plan. <br/>
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French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said Thursday he supported Ben Smith, the CE of Air France-KLM, ahead of a meeting with his Dutch counterpart to discuss the future of the airline. Le Maire, who is to meet with the Netherlands' Wopke Hoekstra Friday for talks following the Dutch state's unexpected acquisition of a stake in the airline, called for the Dutch govt to let Smith get on with his work. Hoekstra summoned Smith earlier this month to secure assurances that Air France would keep key routes open at Amsterdam Schiphol and KLM would retain the partial independence it has enjoyed since the airlines merged in 2004. Separately, Le Maire said the govt will carry on with its privatisation plan for Aeroports de Paris. <br/>