Alitalia/Air France: an Italian story

The relaunch of Italy’s shambolic national carrier is close. Alitalia is due to take off on Tuesday with Air France-KLM having paid a notable premium for a 25% stake. This long-running national pantomime has created many winners among the elite, from Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, on down. The big loser seems to be the Italian taxpayer and consumer. Berlusconi has reportedly given approval for Air France-KLM to buy a quarter of Alitalia for E320m. That’s a victory for the tycoon...