Alitalia’s loss increased due to high fuel costs

ITALY- The Italian airline Alitalia sunk deeper into the red numbers in the first quarter of the year. The results before tax were minus 157 milion euro (US$ 200 million in the red), compared to a loss of 141 million euro (180 M$) in the same period last year. The company also announced a drop in turnover of 3.1 percent to 965 million euro (1230 M$)

Alitalia suffered on several fronts. In the first quarter, the airline company was struck by a series of strikes. Besides that, the company was faced with higher fuel prices. The drop in turnover also has to deal with the sell of Alitalia Servizi, a division that does the baggage handling.

Nu.nl (in Dutch)