Alitalia in 3-way alliance

July 9, 2001 Posted: 1257 GMT

LONDON (CNN) -- Italian airline Alitalia on Monday secured an alliance with Air France and Delta Airlines of the U.S. after several thwarted link-up bids

An alliance between the three carriers ends the Italian airline's long search for partnerships amid consolidation of services and routes in the industry as competition intensifies and fuel prices rise.

An agreement was initialed with Air France early on Monday and a deal for a commercial tie-up with Delta came later in Rome.

Airline alliances enable carriers to share booking systems, routes and each other's passengers for onward journeys, which should enable them to bring down the cost of air travel to consumers.

The final details of the deal will be worked out within the next 30 days after Alitalia's board on Monday gave Chief Executive Francesco Mengozzi a mandate to move forward.

"Delta is pleased to enter into this significant new relationship with Italy's largest, and one of the world's greatest airlines," said Delta Chief Executive Leo Mullin in a statement.

"Through this expanded level of cooperation with Alitalia, we are continuing to build on our leadership position in the global airline services marketplace,"

Mullin added.

The new airline grouping will enter into force in November when Alitalia will also become a member of the SkyTeam global alliance that groups Air France (PAF), Delta (DNT: Research, Estimates), Aeromexico, Korean Air and Czech airline CSA.

The Italian airline previously had a partnership with Dutch airline KLM, but the arrangement broke down because of controversy surrounding the workings of the new Milan-Malpensa airport.

Alitalia also tried, without success, to forge an alliance with Europe's second-largest airline, British Airways.

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