Struggling Italian carrier Alitalia will seek a capital increase of at least $135,000,000, it said on Thursday after reporting another heavy loss for its first half. But its top shareholder Air France-KLM, which holds a 25 percent stake, voted against the capital hike proposal, a source close to the matter said. The Franco-Dutch group declined to comment.
Alitalia, which has struggled to make a profit throughout its life and was bailed out repeatedly by the Italian state before being privatised in 2009, again faces a cash crunch.
Its net loss for the first six months was 294 million euros, on top of losses of more than 840 million euros the group had already accumulated since its privatisation in 2009."With this capital hike they are just buying time, but it doesn't really solve the problem," said Andrea Giuricin, a transport analyst at Milan's Bicocca University.
Alitalia's once ambitious plan to become a strong regional player has failed in the face of tough competition from low-cost carriers, high-speed trains and lower demand for air travel.