It appears that as of August 28, the 3 major contenders for the acquisition of the ailing Alitalia airline (currently for sale under bankruptcy protection) are:
RyanAir, Lufthansa, and EasyJet
Binding tender offers by potential buyers must be submitted by Oct. 2.
After the bids are submitted there will be time until Nov. 5 for counteroffers and other negotiations.
It was announced by Ryanair today that they will bid to operate 90 airplanes under the Alitalia brand, and retain the Alitalia staffing necessary for those 90 planes:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airlines-alitalia-ryanair-idUSKCN1BB1EP
Thanks for the update, Don Roberto. I have an Alitalia flight in December from Catania to Naples. I just bought a back up ticket for €20 on TrenItalia just in case. Cheap insurance.
Lufthansa have already got the Swiss, Austrian and Belgian national airlines yet Ryanair think they're the ones who will have competion regulation problems.....
If Ryanair wins the bid, I sure hope they don't operate Alitalia the way they operate Ryanair.
whilst I have a long list of things I don't like about Ryanair they are nothing compared to what I have experienced with Alitalia
Ken, Ryanair is one of the great success stories in European airline history; Alitalia is one of the sorriest. On short hauls, I can't see any service difference in economy class between Ryanair and the older airlines. Ryanair has opened plenty of secondary European cities to wider air travel. It has even managed to mute its abrasive founder into something resembling a proper executive spokesman. The numbers tell the story: Ryanair's passenger numbers and profits have seen steady growth while Alitalia has for years been a financial soap opera. It's pretty clear which company has been better at keeping jets in the air.
SteveB - did not know Lufthansa operates all those. Looking for a flight into and out of Frankfurt Right now.
Lufthansa don't operate them, they just own them! It's one way to stop competition. They also bought up most german scheduled operators when they got the chance. Ryanair have said they expect Lufthansa to announce plans to buy the remains of Air Berlin before they get chance.
Numerous airlines are under one owner
British Airways--Aer Lingus, Iberia, Vueling
Air France-KLM
Lufthansa--Austrian, Brussels, Eurowings, Germanwings, Swiss, Edelweiss, Sunexpress
It's getting so you can't tell who owns what airline without a scorecard.
"Ryanair is one of the great success stories in European airline history;"
Be that as it may, I will NEVER fly with them again unless there is absolutely NO other choice!
I always get a laugh out of reading this.....
http://www.dearcustomerrelations.com/2014/05/ryanair/
Easyjet is my preferred budget airline in Europe, and I fly with them whenever possible. I've always enjoyed great service and haven't had any problems.
Hilarious! Did these Ryanair staff get a bonus or promotion for creating such publicity?
"Ryanair is one of the great success stories in European airline history;" it's all a matter of perspective. If it comes down to balance sheets it's a fair comment. If it's down to creating trends amongst the gullible who will pay for basic rights and believe there's no need to check to see if another airline is cheaper, it's very true. It's only when you look at past history of human rights and decent service can you get picky. But never fear, their new head of marketing has announced they are going to improve. They will aim to be "nice enough" - but he sees no need to go beyond that. So if they couple that with past pricing policies your "good mroning" will be free but you'll have to pay for a smile!
SteveB......I just got news that the "good" will be free but you will have to prepay for the "morning"
