Lufthansa still interested in Alitalia

BERLIN: Lufthansa remains interested in a restructured Alitalia and its position has not changed after Italy said this week it wanted a majority stake in the airline under government control.

Lufthansa has repeatedly said that the Italian market is important for it but that loss-making Alitalia must first be restructured before it would invest.A spokesman said Lufthansa had already submitted a document to this effect to the government. “We can imagine further talks on this basis,” he said on Friday.

Italy’s new transport minister, Danilo Toninelli, said earlier this week there was a need for 51 percent of Alitalia to be kept in Italian hands.