A warning on Alitalia

Just in case you haven't been keeping up: If you're making longer term travel plans, and they involve Alitalia, it might be a good idea to give it a second thought.
The Italian carrier has been struggling for a while -- most of its history is written in red ink -- but things are looking particularly dire. Alitalia, which is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, was hoping a buyout by Air France-KLM would save it, but that deal fell through this week because the unions fought the prospect of layoffs.
Now the Italian government is trying to offer the carrier a "bridge" loan to temporarily keep it afloat, suggesting that other "buyers'' are waiting in the wings. There is, however, some question about whether the terms of the loan are legal. And even if they are, it's still not clear that these "buyers'' will actually materialize.
And, and, and even if all that happens and Alitalia is sold, it's widely agreed that there will have to be significant layoffs and other cuts. All of which would not omen well for the betterment of your travel experience. Nuff said.