Ita Airways, Mef-Lufthansa agreement in March. And the return of the Alitalia-Corriere.it brand appears

The Treasury and Lufthansa aim to sign the preliminary contract in mid-March to allow the German company to enter Ita Airways and start the recovery plan. A plan which, among other things, provides for the return of the Alitalia brand when the carrier will make profits and only on intercontinental flights, leaving the Italian blue livery on national and European connections. what emerged on Tuesday afternoon, January 31, during the meeting between the trade unions and the managing director of Ita Fabio Lazzerini – convened to discuss the increase in wages -: the news was confirmed at Courier from two government sources who clarify that nothing has been decided yet and that the timing can change. The ministry, Lufthansa and Ita are not commenting.

The stages

On January 27, the Mef signed the Lufthansa memorandum of understanding, triggering the 60 working days of exclusive negotiations which should lead to the entry of the Germans into Italy with a 40% stake which will then rise to 100%. The last day for the agreement would be April 14, but according to sources the signing should take place between 15 and 31 March. At that point it will be up to the EU Antitrust to have its say on the agreement after at least 40 days if no other entity presents objections. Since, as anticipated at the Courier by Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, there will be requests for corrections from rival airlines (starting with the release of slots at Milan Linate and Rome Fiumicino), it could take up to four months for the green light from the regulatory authorities. Barring further hitches, the final signature (closing) expected between the last days of July and mid-August.

The two industrial floors

Ita and Lufthansa are working separately on the 2023-2027 business plan for the Italian company, but the definitive version will come out of the three-way table with the Treasury. Among the knots to be addressed there are also the salaries of the employees. Yesterday the meeting between CEO Lazzerini and Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl, Uiltrasporti, Ugl Ta, Anpac, Anpav and Anp ended with nothing: the acronyms have activated the second phase of the cooling and conciliation procedure even if they recognize some willingness of the company to take steps forward.

The calculations

According to government sources, the rise in salaries could be one of Lufthansa’s first decisions. The transition from salary table 1 (start-up) to table 2 for the more than 3,600 Ita employees provides for an increase of around 30% in salaries and would translate into an outlay of at least 64 million euros, according to estimates by the Courier. To which must be added the costs for personnel hired in 2023 at the same time as the increase in the fleet.

The reactions

There is a need to continue working to build an agreement that satisfies employees and that allows the company to continue on its path of consolidation and development, claims Fit-Cisl in a note. While Fnta (owned by Anpac, Anpav and Anp) requests an acceleration of the decision-making times for the shareholder and the management of Ita on a strategic problem for the company, which could negatively affect future developments if an adequate solution is not found solution.