Etihad & Alitalia agree and affirm their partnership vision. Protectionist voices will become louder

Alitalia is finally set to become the eighth airline in Etihad Airways' Equity Alliance, as the two airlines on 08-Aug-2014 announced a transaction implementation agreement under which Etihad will invest EUR560 million in Alitalia for a 49% stake. That investment, together with injections from other investors and additional financing and loans will create a EUR1.8 billion investment deal for troubled Alitalia. "The future is secure," Etihad CEO James Hogan said in Rome. Its competitors must now prepare for a more competitive Italian market.

Although Mr Hogan warned "there's no quick fix", his quick three-year re-structuring plan projects Alitalia to post a EUR100 million profit by the end of 2017. Alitalia will re-brand as early as 1Q2015 and will exit loss-making short-haul markets and introduce long-haul growth from multiple Italian cities to Abu Dhabi as well as global destinations. China can be expected to be a focus, with some services routed via Abu Dhabi. Mr Hogan affirmed the value of SkyTeam to Alitalia and expects the alliance membership to continue.

Etihad's Alitalia investment has hallmarks of past deals, with Etihad buying into Alitalia's frequent flyer programme and conducting a sale-and-leaseback agreement for its London Heathrow slots. Both Alitalia and Etihad avoided being drawn on details of sticky matters like redundancies, mounting European opposition, "effective control" and if Alitalia really can be saved. Some matters will become clear in the short term and others will take longer, but Mr Hogan is unambiguous: "Our entry into Alitalia has no exit strategy."