On 15 October we will greet in the skies Ita, the airline that was born from the ashes of Alitalia. Recently the Government and the European Commission have reached an agreement on the industrial plan of the new company destined to take the place of Alitalia: Ita, which stands for Italia Trasporti Aereo, will initially be able to count on a fleet of 52 aircraft and will be in able to initially absorb only between 2,750 and 2,950 employees.
The industrial plan of Ita, the new Alitalia
As specified by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the understanding with the EU Commission it made it possible to guarantee ” the discontinuity necessary for compliance with European legislation. The positive outcome of the dialogue with the offices of the Commission allows the procedures relating to the capital increase of Ita to be launched and creates the conditions for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the transfer of certain activities from Alitalia to Ita “. But What does this plan envisage? Ita will be a new Italian airline which, thanks to a capital increase of 700 million euros, will be able to acquire the assets necessary to manage the flight sector. These assets, as envisaged by the agreement with the EU, may be acquired by Ita through direct negotiation with the Extraordinary Administration of Alitalia, while the brand of the carrier now being sold will be sold through a public tender in which Ita will participate. The same fate for the activities included in the sector ” Ground Handling ”, i.e. that of the management of ground aircraft, and those of the ” maintenance ” sector.
It starts with 52 planes and less than 3 thousand workers
Both for the aircraft fleet and for the employees, the Ita plan provides for a progressive increase in the forces to be deployed. It starts with the 52 aircraft available on October 15, which in 2020 will have to become 78. In 2025, with the inclusion of the new generation aircraft, the fleet will reach 105. As for the workers, it will start with less than 3 thousand unity, with the plan which expects to have between 5,550 and 5,700 employees in 2025. A number much lower than Alitalia’s over 10 thousand units, which however could increase if Ita managed to win the tenders for maintenance and Ground Holding activities. Finally, the Business Plan was approved with a turnover that will reach 3.3 billion euros in 2025, with an economic result (EBIT) of 209 million euros and an operating breakeven to be achieved by the third quarter of 2023.
How much did Alitalia cost us
Therefore, October 15th will be in effect the day of the ” switch ” between Alitalia and Ita, a change that puts an end to the ten-year history of the Italian carrier, which over the years has increasingly taken on the appearance of a ” leech ” for the state coffers. The last three billion euros were allocated with the Relaunch decree of last May precisely to set up Newco Ita, but the bill from 1974 to today speaks of 13 billion. According to Mediobanca data, in the period between 1974 and 2014 the various governments paid out 7.4 billion euros, including capital increases, contributions and guarantees given. In the same period of time, Alitalia generated revenues of € 2.075 billion, with a negative balance of over three billion. In 2014 the company was acquired by Ethiad, but the real “ take-off ” never happened, indeed, in 2017, after the rejection of the bailout plan, the company went into receivership, with the Gentiloni government deciding for the yet another recapitalization of 900 million euros, a loan whose maturity was extended several times until the complete elimination implemented by the first Conte government. The bill thus reaches about 10 billion euros, to which must be added the 3 billion necessary for the birth of Ita.
Because the new Alitalia risks starting badly
A plan, that of Ita, which has met with the favor of Europe but not that of the trade unions, who have defined it as ” unacceptable ”. The reasons explained to Today by Ivan Viglietti, Head of the Pilots Department – Air Transport of Uiltrasporti: “ Before going into the various critical points of the question, the method must be analyzed: we have not been in the least summoned or consulted by the Government which instead went to deal in Europe on an industrial level, a plan that we know only through the newspapers and press releases of the institutions. Unfortunately, everything we feared emerges from the plan approved for Ita ”.
But what’s wrong with the new Alitalia plan? As Viglietti points out, the critical points are different: “The first problem concerns the size of the fleet, which should be 52 aircraft, a number that we consider largely insufficient. To be able to compete in the market in an acceptable way at this time, at least 100 aircraft would be needed. airplanes, divided into 70% for medium-haul and 30% for long-haul “.
” The second theme – continues Viglietti – concerns the Ground Holding and maintenance sectors, which we believe should be part of the company perimeter and instead risk ending up in someone else’s hands, given that it will be necessary to win tenders. The same goes for the Alitalia brand, if Ita does not win the public tender there is the danger that the brand will be acquired by other companies, including foreign ones, with a commercial and image damage of enormous size ”.
Strategic errors which, if committed in this relaunch phase, could jeopardize the future performance of the company, as well as cause harmful consequences on employment levels: ” The problem of places at risk arises precisely from the criticalities of this plan. With a fleet of 100 aircraft and the maintenance and Ground Holding sectors under control, the employment problem would not even arise. It is clear that with these conditions we start with less than 3 thousand employees, which should then become 5,700 in 2025. It is still not clear whether these numbers refer only to the aviation sector, so there will be direct and private negotiations, or does it also include sectors for which the public tenders must be won: there is however a discrepancy between the current 10,400 workers of Alitalia and those envisaged by the plan ”.
” Total uncertainty about the numbers, the workers are angry “
A total uncertainty that obviously affects the workers themselves, as told to Today by the Head of the Pilots Department – Air Transport of Uiltrasporti: ” The workers are worried and angry. After four years of extraordinary administration, several governments and many promises, a large piece of the Italian economy, which is also their workplace, still lives in insecurity and with the risk of losing thousands of jobs. We have always asked for the confirmation of all workers, we cannot imagine a government that invests 3 billion euros in a plan that includes layoffs, it would be absurd ”.
For some time now, the sector acronyms have been asking the Government for a meeting, calls that, at least up to now, have remained unheard: sector, on the airport system and on ” drugged ” competition rules, thanks to which low cost carriers are able to enjoy competitive advantages given both by their tax residence and by the lack of a regulatory system. Competing under these conditions is difficult, if not impossible. For this reason, if the plan were to remain the one reported by the media, I have some doubts that the date of October 15 will be respected ”. Ita, Alitalia or new Alitalia, if these are the conditions, “turbulence during the flight” is expected. Always if there will be a flight.
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