ITA Airways is in a wait-and-see position when it comes to what the new Italian government will decide on continuing the bidding process for a partial sale of the airline. A consortium of Certares and Delta Airlines plus Air France-KLM is currently the preferred bidder to acquire a minority share. After the elections last month, the situation could be fully open again, although that’s not something that CEO Fabio Lazzerini expects. Lazzerini was talking to AirInsight and other media on the sidelines of the World Aviation Festival in Amsterdam on October 5. Future of ITA Airways is up to new Italian government. On August 31, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said it had selected the Certares consortium as the preferred bidder ahead of the offer from Swiss shipping and logistics MSC Group and Lufthansa Group. But that was under the previous government. On September 25, Italy elected a right-wing majority. It is likely that Giorgia Meloni of Fratelli d’Italia (Italian Brothers) will now try to form a new government. During the campaign, Meloni said she opposed selling a majority share of ITA Airways to a foreign bidder. After the elections, Meloni and Fratelli d’Italia changed their position and said they no longer had objections. Lazzerini said that the legal process for the divestment of part of ITA Airways was approved last February, so it should be obvious that this process will be executed. “Of course, there is now a new government coming, I would say in a couple of weeks. They are fully entitled to decide if they want to change the process or continue, that is not in our hands.” The conflicting signals from Meloni and her party doesn’t bother Lazzerini. “Our role is to continue to keep the company on track, thanks to the fact that the company is performing better than expected. We give the government all the necessary time to finalize the best possible negotiations. We were supposed to receive a €400 million capital injection in Q1 this year, but we haven’t received it because, in this phase, we don’t need it. We had close to €200 million in cash at the end of September. This is our job: making the company work, making it interesting for our bidders, and allowing the government time to decide.” Fabio Lazzerini, CEO of ITA Airways. (Richard Schuurman) Lazzerini admitted that the final decision is no longer in ITA’s hands: “It’s the government. They are the one that needs to grant a future to the company. We have an interaction on the exchange of the business plans, but the final decision is by the government.” Asked if the preference of the government is also his preference, Lazzerini said: “It’s their preference. That’s the only thing that matters. We are totally agnostic.” Certares recently had access once again to the so-called Data Room, which includes all the financial and operational data from ITA Airways. And last week, the carrier also had an expert session with advisors of the Meloni team that included topics like management, finance, and the airline’s network. Lazzerini can’t predict when a final decision on the bidding process and an agreement will happen. “We are in the budget phase and taking decisions, so the sooner we know if the process is confirmed and which alliance it will be, the better it is for us because we are planning, and being able to count on a partner is different from being alone. Our plan was built on being an autonomous company in a commercial partnership. We have a strong partnership with Delta. As far as the plan is concerned, we don’t need a decision tomorrow morning. Of course, the sooner the better, because synergies can be switched on in a phase where we start up our collaboration.” ITA will grow its fleet from 68 aircraft now to 84 next year, which was part of the existing strategy. ITA will be operating for one year on October 15. Lazzerini said that the carrier could have survived without an equity partner in the next few years. “The business plan as it was given to the European Commission and has a duration of five years doesn’t include an equity partnership at all. There is a commercial and industrial partnership, that’s how it is written. Then you can decide if you want a strong partnership if there is equity or a strong partnership without equity, but that’s open to debate. It isn’t in the plan.”
