Word: alitalia
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...lack of an) Italian Job Francesco Bruno has given up hope of ever finding a permanent job. The best the 30-year-old university graduate says he can expect is a call back from Alitalia for another short-term contract as a flight attendant. "I see myself as a permanent temporary worker," says Bruno, who asked that his real name not be used for fear of jeopardizing his standing with the airline. With Europe's ongoing push to create a job market with U.S.-style flexibility, such employment uncertainty is becoming common. Eurostat reports that the number of workers...
...hard to guess which ones he might be talking about. Swissair, Sabena and Alitalia were all in bad financial shape before the attacks in the U.S. Even well-managed, profitable airlines have been flying by the seat of their pants in the months since the economic slump began. Analysts estimate that even a 3% drop in passenger traffic can make the difference between a profitable year and a stinker. Within 14 days of the attacks, at least 16,000 people working for European airlines were told they would soon lose their jobs...
Italy?s national carrier Alitalia called the current situation "the worst crisis commercial airlines have faced since the end of World War II." To meet it, the carrier announced costsaving measures, including a cut of 2,500 jobs, or 12% of the workforce. The package of cuts will let Alitalia bring losses down from an estimated $350 million to $150 million in the half-year ending in March. The government has promised Italian carriers - Alitalia and a handful of private lines - a bailout of up to $200 million to reduce airport taxes and help pay for heightened security...
...soon turned to disappointment as I realized that not only were all the promotional offers gone, so were the seats in the next price bracket ... and the next ... and the next. The cheapest seat I could find was a whopping $330 in total-around $80 more than all-frills Alitalia's best price. So I didn't go to Pisa. Instead, I stayed home and brooded about how I could get one of these bargain-basement deals that everyone else seems to be enjoying...
Competition has been a dirty word for decades in Italy, particularly for entrenched state monopolies like Alitalia and the electric company ENEL. But the private sector hasn't liked the word much either. If the country's suddenly energized Antitrust Authority has its way, however, businesses may have to get used to it. Last July Italy's insurance firms got a rude awakening when the Authority slapped them with $350 million in fines after determining they had fixed prices for many forms of vehicle insurance...