Alitalia considering stake in Air Malta

Alitalia is looking to acquire a substantial stake in Air Malta, and the two airlines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will allow the Italian flag carrier to carry out comprehensive due diligence on the Valetta-based airline. Once due diligence has been completed, the two airline boards will convene to decide whether or not to proceed with the share purchase.
Currently both airlines are running at a financial loss, while there have been several rumours over the past few months that Etihad, the Dubai-based airline, has been showing an interest in Air Malta. As Etihad also owns a 49% share of Alitalia, this would appeal to the Maltese airline as becoming involved with such a strategic partner would afford them the economies of scale that are almost a prerequisite for survival in today’s commercial airline world.
According to Alitalia SEO, Cramer Ball, “There are strong cultural and commercial bonds between Italy and Malta, and this MOU is a first and important step, but we will only make a decision once we have completed an exhaustive examination of a possible deal.
“We will need to establish unequivocally that a deal with Air Malta will not undermine the progress of our three-year turnaround programme, or prejudice our financial position. Until then, it’s business as usual.
“We are on track to become a profitable entity by 2017 and we need to look and plan for the future, which is why we have decided to look closely to see whether Air Malta can fit into our strategic growth, particularly how our networks can complement each other in areas such as southern Italy.”
He also added that “The future of the commercial aviation industry has to be one of consolidation, and for us to prosper we must examine opportunities where we believe we can offer a wider reach for our customers.”
With regard to the MOU, Malta’s minister for tourism, Zammit Lewis said it “is one step of the process and there is still a long way to go,” while confirming that the signing of the MOU means they will withhold from talking to any other airlines.