Alitalia can get a rapper a custom jet but can’t pay its debts

Bloomberg

When Italian rapper Fedez flew to Sicily to marry fashion star Chiara Ferragni, bankrupt Alitalia provided a special plane, complete with tailor-made tickets, a dedicated departure gate and onboard gadgets.
The company’s largesse sparked protests in parliament and online — as well as demands from the government for an explanation. Alitalia said the flight, from Milan’s Linate airport to Catania, was “a normal commercial accord and part of the company’s advertising campaign.” Now, Alitalia might be down to its last fashion stunt.
After years of scandals and abysmal management, the airline has been under special administration for more than two years and now faces either liquidation or de facto nationalisation. A group of public and private investors must submit a binding offer but most details — including who will join the bid — are murky.
“Alitalia can’t afford to lose more time,” said Claudio Tarlazzi, head of transport union Uiltrasporti. “Talks about possible shareholders are just political solutions at this stage. But Alitalia needs an industrial plan and an investment strategy.”
The core of the plan involves setting up a new company that would retain old Alitalia’s assets while its billions of euros of debt would remain with the old company and be liquidated.
Two state bodies — railway operator Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane SpA and the Treasury — are in talks to take a combined stake of about 50 percent in the new Alitalia, according to the economic development ministry headed by Luigi Di Maio, who is also deputy premier. US carrier Delta Air Lines would take between 10 percent and 15 percent .
The numbers still don’t add up, and that’s where the tensions within Rome’s fractious coalition come into play. According to months of speculation in Italian media, the ideal candidate to complete the bidding group is Atlantia SpA, the Benetton family’s industrial arm which operates some of the country’s biggest airports.
But the Benettons’ future role has become the latest sore spot between Di Maio of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, who’s overseeing the search for investors, and fellow Deputy PM Matteo Salvini of the rightist League.
After the deadly collapse of a highway bridge in Genoa last August, Di Maio wants to strip Autostrade per l’Italia SpA, which Atlantia controls, of its license to operate toll roads. That would probably rule out any Atlantia investment in Alitalia.
The government might be willing to soften its position on revoking the toll-road concession if Atlantia will take part in the airline’s rescue, la Repubblica reported, with negotiations to start by the end of July.
But any decision from a politically weakened Di Maio needs Salvini’s stamp of approval, according to a League lawmaker who asked not to be named.
The League has been in contact with Atlantia about Alitalia, the lawmaker said.