Easyjet still interested in Alitalia - report

EasyJet is still interested in Italy's Alitalia after Italy's transport minister said the airline will remain the national flag carrier but needed an operational partner, the Corriere della Sera reported on Friday.

The Italian newspaper said the chief executive of the FTSE 100 company confirmed the low-cost carrier's continued interest in Alitalia, following comments from transport minister Danilo Toninelli earlier in the week that "Alitalia must remain 51% Italian", with the remaining 49% in the hands of a partner.

Loss-making Alitalia asked the Italian government to put it in administration last summer, following a vote by employees to reject a rescue plan, which would have seen shareholders invest a further €2bn but slash wages.

Speaking at the Farnborough airshow, easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren told the newspaper that the company has "not talked with the Italian government yet, and we have not received any message from them officially".

"We should sit down with them around a table and discuss that proposal, we should try to understand from the Italian government what they are thinking about," he said.

Easyjet on Wednesday reported third-quarter revenues up 14% to £1.6bn, while passenger numbers rose 9.3% to 24.4m. Despite turbulent industry conditions, with disruption from air traffic control industrial action in France and other countries, EasyJet said it had been helped by a weak performance at rivals.

Second-half revenue per seat is now predicted to increase by “low to mid-single digits” - previously the carrier said they would be "slightly positive" - while full-year profits expectations are now expected to come in to between £550m and £590m. EasyJet initially said full-year profits would be between £530m and £580m.