Irish budget carrier Ryanair has not offered to take part in Italian airline Alitalia's poorly received EUR300 million (USD407 million) capital increase, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, Alitalia has now been left with the prospect of literally running out of fuel before next summer unless it can get top shareholder Air France-KLM or some other investor to invest and help revamp its fleet.
Cash-strapped Alitalia has so far raised less than two thirds of the capital wanted from the share sale. It will rely on Italy's state-owned postal service and other investors to come up with the rest, the report said.
Reuters, citing industry analysts, said that even with a successful cash call Alitalia may have to ground its fleet within six months unless a strong investor can be found. The Italian carrier loses EUR700,000 a day and has net debt of over EUR800 million.
Alitalia and the Italian government have been hoping that strong airlines such as Lufthansa, Etihad Airways or Aeroflot would come to its rescue. All three expressed they weren't interested in the airline right now, the report said.
Air France-KLM, already a shareholder with a 25% stake, also walked away from the rights offer, said Reuters.
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