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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Alitalia seeks bankruptcy measure | Alitalia seeks bankruptcy measure |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Troubled Italian airline Alitalia has applied for bankruptcy protection as it tries to agree a deal to ensure its long-term survival. | |
| The carrier has sought court protection from its creditors, effectively declaring itself insolvent. | |
| Administrators will be appointed to handle the process, with flights continuing while the firm plans a radical overhaul of its operations. | |
| Losing 2m euros a day, Alitalia has survived on a 300m-euro state loan. | |
| Plans are being drawn up to split the carrier into two and to sell a stake in a new entity to a foreign airline. | Plans are being drawn up to split the carrier into two and to sell a stake in a new entity to a foreign airline. |
| Split in two | Split in two |
| Guaranteeing the airline's future will depend on securing fresh investment and persuading its unions to accept large job cuts. | Guaranteeing the airline's future will depend on securing fresh investment and persuading its unions to accept large job cuts. |
| Both Air France KLM and Lufthansa have expressed interest in investing in any new entity which emerges from the current business. | Both Air France KLM and Lufthansa have expressed interest in investing in any new entity which emerges from the current business. |
| No one can buy Alitalia in the state it's in... the business is toast Roberto Colaninno | No one can buy Alitalia in the state it's in... the business is toast Roberto Colaninno |
| Earlier on Friday, Corrado Passera, head of the airline's financial advisers Intesa Sanpaolo, confirmed that Alitalia's board was drawing up a request to seek bankruptcy protection. | |
| The move will give the firm breathing space to reach agreement on how the business can proceed. | |
| Future plans for the carrier would see it divided in half, with its loss-making operations remaining under bankruptcy protection. | Future plans for the carrier would see it divided in half, with its loss-making operations remaining under bankruptcy protection. |
| Profitable short-haul routes would be hived off to a new business, controlled by a consortium of Italian investors including budget airline Air One which would effectively be merged with Alitalia. | Profitable short-haul routes would be hived off to a new business, controlled by a consortium of Italian investors including budget airline Air One which would effectively be merged with Alitalia. |
| Italian ownership | Italian ownership |
| Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has made Alitalia's continued ownership by Italian interests a precondition of any rescue deal. | Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has made Alitalia's continued ownership by Italian interests a precondition of any rescue deal. |
| However, experts have said the airline - of which the government owns 49% - can only survive in the future as part of some European alliance. | |
| Previous attempts to sell the business to a foreign airline have foundered over union concerns about job losses and unease over the severity of the airline's financial problems. | Previous attempts to sell the business to a foreign airline have foundered over union concerns about job losses and unease over the severity of the airline's financial problems. |
| The airline's perilous position was put into perspective by Roberto Colaninno, appointed to take charge of the new entity that emerges from the restructuring. | The airline's perilous position was put into perspective by Roberto Colaninno, appointed to take charge of the new entity that emerges from the restructuring. |
| "No one can buy Alitalia in the state it's in," he told La Repubblica newspaper. | "No one can buy Alitalia in the state it's in," he told La Repubblica newspaper. |
| "With all respect, I am not Merlin the magician. The business is toast. It doesn't exist any more. There's nothing left." | "With all respect, I am not Merlin the magician. The business is toast. It doesn't exist any more. There's nothing left." |
| Alitalia has been crippled in recent years by strategic indecision, poor industrial relations and soaring fuel costs. | Alitalia has been crippled in recent years by strategic indecision, poor industrial relations and soaring fuel costs. |
| Its shares were suspended earlier this summer while the firm has delayed the release of its 2007 accounts. | Its shares were suspended earlier this summer while the firm has delayed the release of its 2007 accounts. |