Italian sources confirm that Air France-KLM is tipped as the overwhelming favourite to be the new Alitalia's international partner.
The tug-of-war between the French SkyTeam carrier and its rival Lufthansa could well be settled on Monday when the Alitalia board meets ahead of its formal launch on 13 January.
There was an Air France-KLM board meeting this morning and, although Paris is remaining tight-lipped on its chances, Italian sources close to Alitalia are confident that the Franco-Dutch airline will receive the nod.
"It is widely-believed that Air France-KLM will be the international preferred partner announced on Monday," says the source. "But this has yet to be approved by the new board of Alitalia."
Yesterday Lufthansa was not ruling itself out of a potential bid, but the German carrier added that it had not put in a formal offer.