Alitalia to End Air France-KLM Partnership

An Alitalia aircraft in Amsterdam

Alitalia announced it will not renew its joint-venture agreements and partnership with Air France-KLM come 2017.

The Italian flag carrier, which last August signed a deal allowing Etihad Airways to acquire a 49% stake in the company, made the announcement on Tuesday.

“These agreements are no longer beneficial, either commercially or strategically, to the new Alitalia and its ambitious turnaround plan, said Silvano Cassano, the company’s CEO, in a statement.  “They were negotiated when Alitalia was in a very different position, with the result that the agreements in their current form favor the other party,” he added.

Alitalia first became a partner of Air France-KLM in 2009.  The deal with Etihad allowed Alitalia to avoid a second visit to bankruptcy court in six and led to an ambitious restructuring that may bring the carrier back to profitability within two or three years.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)