Italian airline ‘could run out of cash’
Italian airline Alitalia could run out of cash before the end of the current financial year unless it manages to raise more funding, according to Reuters.
The news organisation said the struggling airline has hired boutique investment bank Leonardo & Co to help it raise more than €400 million to keep it afloat.
The airline, which has previously been bailed out by the Italian government, has already agreed salary cuts with unions and its chief executive and board members have reduced their pay by 20%, said Reuters.
Alitalia made a net loss of €280 million in 2012 and in July this year it said it needed €300 million to keep it running, but it claimed it expected to break even by 2015.
The airline is 25% owned by Air France-KLM.
Alitalia said in a statement it had hired the bankers to "assist the company in its relationships with the banks".
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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