Abstract
Alitalia is the flag carrier airline of Italy. The company was founded in 1947. At that time, it was owned by the Italian Ministry of the Treasury with 49% of shares and other shareholders, including employees with 49%, and Air-France KLM with 2%. Alitalia knew its apogee in the 1960s, and has long suffered from political interference, trade unions interest and, more recently, from soaring fuel costs and an economic downturn stinging the travel sector worldwide. The deregulation of the 1970s was rugged for the company. Alitalia failed at trying to diversify its activities in the tourism field and had to reduce its operations drastically. In 1996, the company limited its services to flyers services. The events of September 11, 2001 worsened the situation of the company by reducing the market demand. In 2006, the crisis was accentuated with a 10% loss of its value on the stock exchange.
