Italy's Alitalia: Losses deepen but worst is over

Italian carrier Alitalia on Wednesday said its losses deepened in the first six months of 2012 due to higher fuel prices and the European debt crisis but estimated that the worst was now over. In the first six months of the year, the troubled airline registered a net loss of 201 million euros ($244 million) compared with a loss of 94 million euros during the same period in 2011, the company said in a statement. Sales rose however by 4.1 percentage points to 1.686 billion euros. Alitalia director Andrea Ragnetti said "the worst is over" and added that "the second half of the year should be better than the first half. "The reversal I am expecting will bring us to a 2013 which should be the year of Alitalia's return to operational profit after more than 20 years." Alitalia was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2008 and was taken over by a group of leading Italian industrialists. It was merged with Italy's second airline, Air One, and Air France-KLM took a 25-percent stake in the new firm.