Former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo to lead Italian airline Alitalia

After his walk-out from Ferrari back in September, Luca di Montezemolo is all set to start a new job, this time running Italy’s struggling national airline Alitalia. According to a latest report, the 67-year-old Ferrari veteran will be announced as the head of the Alitalia, as soon as theregulators gives a go-ahead to 49 percent sale of the airline to Etihad in a deal worth around $2.2 billion.

In an effort to expand its operations in Europe, Ethiad is eyeing a share in the Alitalia, which is seeking for financial funding currently. This collaboration with Etihad will gather Alitalia money to invest in more profitable long-haul routes, and make it less reliant on domestic and regional services, where it has found difficulty to compete against low-cost airlines as well as high-speed trains. Ethiad already owns stakes in Germany’s Air Berlin and Ireland's Aer Lingus, among others.

After a 23-year spell at Maranellocame, his resignation came as quite a shock to many. He had been the face of the brand and the company's the best of the time came under his guidance. Amusingly, prior to his resignation, he had shown his interest in staying with the company for at least three more years before retiring. But due to disagreements with Ferrari’s parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles over moves to boost production numbers and take the company public, as well as continued poor performance in Formula1, eventually led to his departure.

Source: Reuters