ROME, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Administrators for struggling Italian air carrier Alitalia said Wednesday they have no preference between competing offers including United States-based Delta Airlines and Germany's Lufthansa.
For months, Delta had been the sole airline interested in taking a stake in Alitalia along with Italian state rail operator Ferrovie dello Stato and highway and road operator Atlantia. But Lufthansa wrote Ferrovie dello Stato to express interest in replacing Delta in a similar deal.
The Lufthansa offer is so far light on specifics, stating only that the company would spend more than Delta, which has so far promised to spend around 100 million euros (110 million U.S. dollars) to help turn around the Italian airline, which has been losing money for years.
"We do not have any preference about the industrial partner for Alitalia, we are unbiased," Daniele Discepolo, one of the three administrators appointed to oversee Alitalia's efforts to find a partner, told parliament on Wednesday.
The administrators are expected to make a decision on its partnerships on Nov. 21.
The developments come amid some good news for Alitalia, which has seen its share of the domestic Italian air travel market contract for six consecutive years.
The airline reported that its revenue from inter-continental flights -- mostly from Rome and Milan to Asia and North America -- grew for the 24th straight month in October.
The company said revenues from inter-continental traffic were 7.5 percent higher in October than the same time of last year.
