Embracing reality – Italian style

The almost farcical revolving door of management and government has done nothing to bring stability to the airline, but the stark reality is that Alitalia is a dinosaur, and not one of the flying kind.

The problem at Alitalia, while its management strives to preach reality of the Ryanair kind, is its staff think they are still back in the DC‑8 days where men wore suits and women were adorned with pearls, and carry-on consisted of little more than a book, camera and hat.

After 15 months of trying to sell its 49. 9 per cent share of the crippled airline, only one really serious bidder – Air France/KLM – has emerged for the government, but the list of “possible suitors” has been more like an Italian soap opera.

But early in April Air France-KLM walked away from the deal at last, when unions would not agree to about 2000 job cuts.

Another sticking point amongst political forces was the Air France/KLM plan of just one major hub of Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport, which involved cutting back operations at Milan’s Malpensa airport.

Italy’s La Republica newspaper cited the head of Italy’s trade union CGIL calling the deal “unconditional surrender. ” Pilot unions were also flagging rejection of the deal.

But facing reality of the “nobody wants the airline” kind, the Italian government was moving in early April to read the riot act to the unions. And the need for the riot act is dire because local Italian media suggest the airline only has enough money till June.

Of course one must add politics to the mix – Italian style – with billionaire Silvio Berlusconi, the media magnate who has opposed the sale to Air France-KLM, using it to whip up political capital.

By the time this is read he is expected to have won the general election and his criticisms may become more muted – and that is another reality.

With the airline losing about $1. 8 million a day the time for politics is long gone, with most in government conceding that the only alternative to Air France-KLM will be bankruptcy.

Berlusconi, in a flush of patriotic spirit, has talked of a consortium of Italian businessmen to step up to the boarding gate, but so far no-one has purchased a ticket or even gone to the website.

Alitalia shares have been falling as fast as the oil price has been rising and were suspended at about 82 cents.

The Air France-KLM bid of one of its shares for 160 Alitalia shares values the Italian airline at just €139 ($234) million, which was an 81 per cent discount on the airline’s closing price.

There are many Australians who remember Alitalia with some fondness, but we also remember with varying degrees of fondness UTA, KLM, Lufthansa, Pan Am, Lauda Air, and the list goes on and on.

Reality today can be found in places like Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Qatar, Stansted and, yes, Dublin.

These are the centres of aviation today and unless airlines and staff are prepared to re-invent themselves, as Air New Zealand has done in spectacular fashion, then they are doomed.

In the late 1990s the Qantas international flight attendants union embarked on an ‘Italian styled’ campaign of non-reality when it preached to its members that they were more efficient –and thus deserved more pay – than the airline’s competitors on routes to Rome, Paris and Frankfurt, citing Alitalia, Air France and Lufthansa.

The stark reality was the real competition on those routes was Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Fortunately that line of thinking is fading and not a moment too soon.

Aviation is the most global of industries and the second an Emirates or AirAsia X aircraft touches down it brings with it a ‘can do’ culture, pursuit of excellence and in the case of AirAsia X, its salary conditions – like it or not.