Don't blame on us, observers, that we aren't optimistic about Alitalia. Even the carrier's CEO seems to share quite a pessimistic view nowadays...
"Alitalia is in a comatose state, it is in the intensive care unit," Maurizio Prato told senators in Rome, ANSA news agency reported.
"Personally, I am surprised by the general refusal to accept reality and by the fact that a company in this state does not have the possibility, even though it is listed on the stock market, to make autonomous decisions even if this is needed for its survival," he said.
Prato, who took over at Alitalia last month after an auction for the government's 49.9-percent stake failed, has drawn up a plan to keep the airline going until a buyer is found.
Alitalia outlined a new rescue strategy last month that included cutting an unspecified number of jobs and downsizing operations at Malpensa airport in the northern city of Milan in order to make Rome the airline's main hub.
But the plan has been met with fierce resistance from unions, who oppose major job cuts, and from northern politicians who want Alitalia to keep Milan as a hub.