Eng, here are the moves and turmoil in Alitalia’s heir
What emerged from the follow-up to the hearing of the president of Ita, Altavilla, in Parliament. In the meantime, Altavilla also tested the availability of the CEO Fabio Lazzerini to leave the company, according to Repubblica.
Turbulence for Ita Airways, the new airline born from the ashes of Alitalia, 100% owned by the Mef and operational since last October 15th.
Ita's fleet will increase by 50% to 78 aircraft by the year and in 2025 it will return to 105 aircraft. Hiring will therefore continue. The company expects to add a thousand more (over 300 pilots and more than 600 flight attendants) in 2022. This was stated by the president of Ita, Alfredo Altavilla, during the follow-up to his hearing in the Transport Committee of the Chamber.
To date, the company has hired 2,235 workers among the former Alitalia, a number less than the 2,800 expected on 15 October. Just yesterday, former Alitalia employees took part in a garrison in Piazza Santi Apostoli in view of possible future hires, as reported by the Fact . ( Here the in-depth study by Startmag on Why does Ita hit Alitalia employees? ).
In the meantime, just today Repubblica revealed that “Alfredo Altavilla, executive president of Ita Airways, tested the availability of the managing director Fabio Lazzerini to leave the company”. The president of Ita would therefore be impatient with the two-headed management for the airline.
All the details.
ABOUT FLEET AND RECRUITMENT
"It is true that the initial fleet has been halved, but over the course of this year it will increase by 50% to 78 aircraft, returning to 105 aircraft by 2025," Altavilla said in a hearing. "This is the reason why recruitments are progressing regularly, not taking into account the Omicron variant" of Covid-19 "because the timing of training requires an adequate period of training". "For example, from 31/12 to today 62 new people have already been brought into the company, so we are moving forward with the plan and the budget foreseen by 2022" added the executive president of Ita Airways.
EBIT 2021 IN LINE WITH THE PLAN
Regarding the numbers of Ita for 2021, "Although not yet having had the approval of the board of directors on the final figures for 2021, the EBIT for the year 2021 is in line with that envisaged by the industrial plan, around a negative 170 million" he Altavilla specified.
"With half of the revenues and a higher cost of fuel, the focus on the costs of services and supplies has allowed us to keep the result unchanged: I believe this is an indication of a good performance of the company," said the president.
PARTNERSHIP TO IMPROVE RATES
Furthermore, alliances and partnerships remain among the new airline's priorities.
"What we are looking for in the approach to partnerships is a situation in which all the benefits of any activity towards third parties are reflected on us, with an improvement in tariffs" said the president of Ita, Alfredo Altavilla, during the continuation of his hearing. to the Chamber of Deputies.
“The goal of Ita Airways is to guarantee market fares and competitive levels of our aircraft. We do not intend to compete with foreign giants in handling and maintenance by putting capital and workers at risk, ”he added.
IT IS SOON TO TALK ABOUT SHAREHOLDINGS ON ALLIANCES
As for the alliances, "it is soon to talk about shares" for Altavilla.
“If we don't begin to determine the value of Ita it is difficult to have a conversation with someone. Possible speculations regarding possible shares are therefore stripped of any foundation because we have not yet finished the elaboration of the industrial plan that will determine the prospective value of the company ”highlighted the president of Ita.
“We have ongoing contacts with many European and non-European interested parties”, he specified last week in the first part of the hearing. There is talk of parallel tables with the Lufthansa group, with Air France and with Delta Air Lines.
THE ALITALIA BRAND WILL BE BACK
With regard to the Alitalia brand, the company plans to use it "in analogy to what already happens for all full service carrier operators that have multiple brands in their portfolio". "We have identified a clear mission for the Alitalia brand, which will therefore be used," said Altavilla.
As for the 90 million paid for the brand, Altavilla stressed that "for a second brand in our portfolio, it seemed to us a fair valuation compared to the 145 million that was Alitalia's net value".
LAZZERINI: EXPLOITING FIUMICINO TO GUARANTEE PROFITABILITY
As for airports, CEO Fabio Lazzerini explained in the hearing that “We know the importance of Malpensa, but the size of Ita pushes us to concentrate and increase our efforts on the Fiumicino hub and not to waste energy. However, as early as the summer we will launch the Malpensa-Jfk line. At this moment, to ensure the profitability of the company, it is necessary to make the best possible use of Fiumicino airport ".
TURBULENCES BETWEEN THE TOP
Finally, clouds in sight between the two leaders of Ita Airways, heard today by the Transport Committee of the Chamber.
According to Repubblica “Alfredo Altavilla, executive president of Ita Airways, tested the availability of the managing director Fabio Lazzerini to leave the company. Lazzerini – who still enjoys the confidence of the Ministry of Economy, the sole shareholder of Ita Airways – will remain in his post, at least for now. Ita Airways, the new national airline, has two captains in the cockpit. Lazzerini is the CEO, of course. Altavilla, however, is not a representative president. It's not just there to cut the ribbons. He is an executive chairman with significant powers (on strategies and finance). The two-headed guide can work at times. But it may not work either, especially when it comes to airplanes. And Altavilla was convinced that Ita Airways would need a more traditional set-up. This is why he proposed to Lazzerini to leave ”.
“When a CEO leaves the company without any fault, as it would be for Fabio Lazzerini, the company usually guarantees him a millionaire severance pay, one of those that change your life. And an economic offer was evaluated by Lazzerini, informally – writes Repubblica -. Then Lazzerini, although convinced that driving with two heads is not good, contacted the Ministry of Economy, owner of Ita Airways. The ministry was cautious. He acknowledged the manager that he had done the job of CEO well. The trust in his work, therefore, is still there ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/ita-ecco-mosse-e-subbugli-nellerede-di-alitalia/ on Thu, 20 Jan 2022 15:29:46 +0000.