Alitalia to end partnership with Air France-KLM

Alitalia announced (19-May-2015) its intention not to renew its partnership agreement and ancillary joint ventures agreements with Air France-KLM, which are scheduled for renewal in Jan-2017. Alitalia stated: "The agreements govern passenger services operated by the three carriers between Italy and France (and beyond), and between Italy and the Netherlands (and beyond), as well as the marketing, sales and distribution of Alitalia Cargo belly services undertaken by Air France-KLM." Alitalia CEO Silvano Cassano said: "These agreements are no longer beneficial, either commercially or strategically, to the new Alitalia and its ambitious turnaround plan. They were negotiated when Alitalia was in a very different position, with the result that the agreements in their current forms favour the other party. They are undermining our ability to restructure our network and the airline effectively to achieve the long term sustainability of our business. The new Alitalia is in a new position. Our business needs agreements which deliver equitable value to each party." Mr Cassano added: "We have indicated to Air France-KLM that we are willing to discuss more equitable arrangements that benefit all the parties involved, but thus far we have been unable to achieve this result. We remain open to further discussions to achieve a mutually acceptable solution. However in the interest of transparency and certainty for all parties, we felt it necessary to announce our intention not to renew these agreements under the present conditions." [more - original PR] [more - original PR - Italian]