AirFrance-KLM to cut Alitalia fleet size by 50 and to shut down Alitalia Cargo
Air France-KLM, the world’s biggest airline, is expected to close down Alitalia’s cargo operations if its takeover bid for the ailing Italian carrier succeeds.
The Franco-Dutch airline made a 138-million euro [$215-million] offer for Alitalia over the weekend which the state-controlled Italian airline immediately accepted even though it was an 80-percent discount to its share price on Friday.
Alitalia’s cargo operations are among the divisions Air France-KLM is expected to shut down, according to Italian press reports, as part of a restructuring aimed at returning the airline to an operating profit in 2011 — its first since 1998. It also plans to cut its passenger fleet from 185 planes to 137 planes. The cargo unit, which operates five MD-11 freighters, saw volume in January fall by 3.8 percent from the previous year as the carrier slashed freight capacity by 7.6 percent.
Alitalia offers freighter service to the United States, India, China, Japan, South Korea and Africa. in May, 2007, it opened a new route between Milan and Miami that also serves several South American destinations through an agreement with Centurion Air Cargo.
Alitalia has failed to maximize the potential of one of Europe’s most dynamic air-cargo markets in heavily industrialized northern Italy as many shippers prefer to truck to Zurich and even Frankfurt, the hubs of SwissCargo and Lufthansa Cargo. Alitalia also is cutting flights at Milan Malpensa airport, Italy’s biggest cargo hub. Alitalia and KLM established a freighter joint venture in the Nineties to spearhead a full-scale merger but the Dutch walked away after just six months. KLM later merged with Air France, creating Europe’s second-largest scheduled airfreight carrier after Lufthansa Cargo.
Air France-KLM said it will only proceed with its bid if it is accepted by Alitalia’s unions and Italy’s next government, which will emerge from elections in April. The Italian state owns 49.9-percent of Alitalia and has been looking for a buyer for over a year.
