Roberto Colaninno seems to be sitting pretty. The Italian businessman’s chances of leading the latest rescue of Alitalia have improved as the beleaguered airline’s recalcitrant unions one by one fall into line with his salvage plan. The Piaggio chairman and former Telecom Italia boss looks set to take over the viable assets of the airline together with a consortium of leading Italian entrepreneurs that will create a new flag carrier combining the best of Alitalia with the smaller Air One domestic carrier.

Given Alitalia’s turbulent history, this is no mean achievement. Mr Colaninno also seems to be in a strong position not only to negotiate a strategic partnership with a big international carrier but also to extract the best deal for the new Alitalia.