“I like German, the market is open there in Germany.” The CEO of Ita, Fabio Lazzerini, replied with a (but probably significant) joke, to those who yesterday asked him, on the sidelines of a conference on air transport in Milan, if it were not necessary to learn German, being Lufthansa the most credible candidate for a strategic alliance. Those present perceived this statement as an implicit confirmation, even if there is nothing official.
Certainly the new airline, which in some ways is the heir of Alitalia (although it is forbidden to say so), is ready to take off: “Ita will leave in 6 days” confirmed Lazzerini, but there is a paradox; it is not yet known which brand will be painted on the nacelle of the planes, because the tender to sell the Alitalia name was deserted, as the request for 290 million was deemed excessive by Ita. A new race will be done in a hurry, however “the dates are close to our departure”, Lazzerini observes with regret, consequently “we do not yet know what we will call ourselves, but we will resolve the matter in the next few days and you will find out on the 15th”. The situation is paradoxical because today Ita begins to communicate its take-off with a commercial, which however «is not yet branded with a brand».
Lazzerini reiterates Ita’s disagreement on the initial auction value of 290 million. “It seems to me that the market has shown that no one agreed on that value, since no one has responded to the tender”. This does not mean that the Alitalia brand is worth zero: “It certainly has value, it is a historic brand, it is a well-known brand, with pros and cons, with a glorious history but also a history of some stumbling blocks, and everything this must be considered ».