ENG: sold to Lufthansa, but only if restored. What does it mean?

The StartMag website updates us about the future of ITA Airways, decided during the last visit of the CEO of Lufthansa, Carsten Spohr, in Rome, where he met the representatives of the Italian government, currently the controlling shareholder of the airline. We quote what is written by the information site:

Under the deal, Lufthansa will acquire 41% of Ita through a capital increase of 325 million euros, with the option to acquire all the remaining shares at a later stage. The Mef has undertaken to carry out the capital increase of 250 million euros; last tranche of the 1.35 billion authorized by the European Commission.

The German flag carrier intends to completely acquire Ita Airways, but only when the Italian carrier returns to profit (profit expected by 2025). Spohr stressed that Lufthansa cannot be forced to take over 100% of Alitalia's successor, as this "depends on future developments" of this company.

Therefore Lufthansa undertakes to buy all of ITA only if it is restored, i.e. it will return to profit. Following the motto of an amusing advertisement, the Germans "Like to win easy": in fact they do not commit themselves to any of those painful decisions that involve the return of the national airline to profit, from any further job cuts to increases in the cost of tickets per cut of destinations. They will intervene by buying only when the entire recovery process is completed.

Selling a profitable and healthy airline is much easier than selling one at a loss. To do this you don't need a big deal and the MEF barber would be enough to conclude the agreement. A profitable company could have been placed on the market under very different conditions and perhaps offered to one of the other coalitions present on the international market, from KLM Air France to BA-Iberia, and perhaps not on the condition of total subjection, indeed of colonisation.

Beyond the words of circumstance Spohr has not ensured anything about the development of ITA, at least publicly, but limited himself to expressing his desire to colonize the rich Italian market, made interesting by foreign tourist flows and by inter-European transport. Lufthansa has never managed to become the main airline in our country because, trivially, it is not competitive on prices. It is not clear how it can become so by absorbing ITA, among other things with a minimal investment. There is no mention of investments and in any case these would be paid for by Italian tourists and passengers in favor of the German investor. What advantage does Italy get from this sale?

Someone will say, as usual, that "However, ITA was a black hole like Alitalia". Certainly in the air transport sector enormous mistakes have been made in Italy: from the latest disastrous public management to the "Brave Captains" to the alliance with Ethiad, but, in this case, the company is sold only if it is profitable. Then the fruit of the sacrifices is sold and without even a minimum of international auction. Why? This decision seems to be just the umpteenth chapter of the mental subjection of our ruling class towards Germany, an attitude that has never, historically, done us any good.

So ITA's fate seems already sealed and it will become yet another Lufthansa satellite, without autonomy. A ticket office for the flights of the German giant, as is already the case for the various Austrian, Brussels Air and Aegean. We console ourselves by thinking that not much will change for the Italian user: he will continue to fly with Ryanair simply because it's cheaper and with a better national and European route network, and he won't even have the hesitation to damage an Italian company anymore.

---

---

The article ITA: sold to Lufthansa, but only if reorganized. What does it mean? comes from Economic Scenarios .

---

This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/ita-ceduta-a-lufthansa-ma-solo-se-risanata-che-senso-ha/ on Sat, 27 May 2023 08:00:42 +0000.