Of course, it’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
The group has called on European regulators to block plans for Etihad to take a stake in Alitalia, saying it would amount to unfair competition introduced into the European market.
The airline states according Reuters
“We reject recurrent subsidies and the partial renationalization of European airlines, whether by European states or by states or state-owned companies from outside the European Union”
Meanwhile, Maurizio Lupi (Italian Transport Minister) responded with:
“Lufthansa’s worries about a deal with Etihad just confirm that Alitalia is on the right track,”
“State aid? Flouting of competition rules? It rather seems that Lufthansa is the one that is afraid of competition.”
As you saw earlier, Alitalia needs the equity ownership stake to help itself climb out of the €800million hole its in. The airline managed to raise the €300million through a mixture of private and public finance via the Italian Post office.
Lufthansa itself tried to inject itself as a competitive carrier in the Italian market with its Lufthansa Italia product (which lasted 20 months with 9 Airbus A319’s) and through its Air Dolomiti subsidiary (which operates 10 Embraer E-195 in its fleet), with varying levels of success – but not enough to take on Alitalia and win.
If we were looking at competition, in terms of Europe – its biggest “enemies” are EasyJet and Ryanair, whilst it fights with Star Alliance, Oneworld and other Skyteam carriers for revenue on its more important long haul routes.
Suffice to say, this equity purchase could be a very rocky road ahead. Which for Alitalia… is the last thing it needs.
HT:
- autolycus via the comments at GhettoIFE
- Statements via Reuters – http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/03/us-etihad-alitalia-lufthansa-idUSBREA120SO20140203
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