Alitalia buys time with its new four part 2013-2016 industrial plan. Part 1

On 3-Jul-2013, the loss-making Alitalia Group announced its new industrial plan for 2013-2016. It includes refocusing the different roles of Alitalia and Air One, growing intercontinental activities, developing infrastructure partnerships and extracting more value from the group's frequent flyer programme.

Possibly the most significant outcome is that it should buy time for the Group's new CEO Gabriele Del Torchio, appointed in Apr-2013. Seeking cash from an increase in a convertible loan from shareholders and from other sources before the end of 2013, it holds out the promise of a return to a positive net result in 2016.

In Part 1 of our report on the Alitalia Group's new plan, we assess its strategic decision to redefine the roles of Alitalia and Air One and to develop its intercontinental activities. In Part 2, we will look at its strategies around collaboration with infrastructure partners and analyse is financial targets.