ROME – Italy’s national airline has announced that it will not be renewing its current joint venture partnership with Air France-KLM from 2017, as it no longer benefits both parties, according to CEO, Silvano Cassano.

 "These agreements are no longer beneficial, either commercially or strategically, to the new Alitalia and its ambitious turnaround plan," said Cassano in a statement. "They were negotiated when Alitalia was in a very different position, with the result that the agreements in their current forms favour the other party."

 In August 2011, Alitalia announced that Etihad Airways would assume a 49% share of the company and offer investment to avoid a second bankruptcy in the space of six years. Currently Alitalia and Etihad offer a combined service to 168 global destinations and aim to return the Italian company to profitability by 2017.

 As a result, Alitalia believes that they should either end the partnership with Air France-KLM or renegotiate the terms of the contract. Silvano Cassano said that the company were prepared to enter discussions to find “a mutually beneficial solution,” but confirmed that the present conditions were not sustainable.