“We don’t want money. Alitalia’s reorganization would have less economic costs for the State, no social costs for workers and would end up evading all the objections made by the EU on the launch of the NewCo Ita, but above all it would be feasible”. This was stated to Adnkronos by Antonio Chialastri, commander of Airbus A-320 of the former national airline and author of the television interview ‘The 10 false myths about Alitalia’.
According to Chialastri, in fact, “restructuring Alitalia is, projections in hand, possible, respecting the rules of the market and without state aid. In 2019, if supplies had not been purchased out of the market, the company would have closed with 121 million assets. balance sheet there are round trips that can be optimized such as leaseback planes. But for this we need capable managers who know the real situation of company accounts, who know how to make plans, and who have vision “.
On the other hand, from the perspective of the Airbus A-320 commander, this solution would avoid the social massacre of layoffs and increased spending on social safety nets. “If Ita starts with 3 billion and the fleet halved, it will have 7,000 redundancies, with about two billion to spend on the redundancy fund. The state would therefore end up spending 5 billion to start a company with 50 planes and with the social drama of the loss. of jobs. A solution, this of the anonymous company and Bonsai, which must be avoided “, explains Chialastri.
‘immediately set up Newco within a company under extraordinary administration’
But not even the road to break with the EU is feasible. “The European Union made 108 referee comments on the relaunch of Newco Ita and said, among other things, well-known things: you cannot take the Alitalia brand, because there is already a company that is called that way and, if you want it with name and assets, you have to buy it by bidding. A break with the EU would mean exposing yourself to the risk of appeals from competitors who would almost certainly win “, says Chialastri.
What to do? “There is a third way between accepting the death of Alitalia with the birth of an anonymous company and halved or continuing in a grueling tug-of-war with the EU without the possibility of victory, where the wages of the workers and the fuel of the planes, and is to set up a new management plan by capable managers, set up a Newco within the company under extraordinary administration and then tomorrow make the transition to a new company “, continues the Airbus A commander. -320.
“There is a market, given the interest of foreign companies in Italy and it is not true that Alitalia is inefficient, since the industrial part works very well. It is the financial side that has been disastrous. up to a point, unfair competition and airport taxes, but the problem is accounting. We employees have launched a petition that has met with unexpected success, with over 6200 signatures (most of the employees) in which we ask to put capable managers able to identify and correct these anomalies. The road to remediation is the most correct one. Alitalia can stay on the market, but it is a futile effort to put water in a laundry bucket, so the budget items that are out of control must be sorted out “, he concludes Chialastri.