Alitalia, majority-owned by the Italian government, is in financial difficulty. They would like to be able to join Air France / KLM's Skyteam partnership, but need some stability first.

As reported today in Travel Weekly, a reliable industry publication, the Italian government has agreed to guarantee a loan thought to be around $485 million USD to the ailing airline. The loan would still needs to be approved by the EC, which is trying to enforce a ban on government-guaranteed loans. The loan would be for restructuring the airline to avoid bankruptcy. No one would like to see another failure like Sabena or Swissair. http://makeashorterlink.com/?B270624A8 (You must register as a Guest to read articles at this Travel Weekly site)

Closer to home, United Airlines' application for government-guaranteed loans was rejected for the second time. They may try for a third application. They need the loan to come out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Here's an update from Forbes: http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q330224A8

The skies are troubled today.

Gail In Eugene but never for long