The board of airline Alitalia approved a new industrial plan on Friday and said it was seeking a loan of up to $485 million from a US bank to help it overcome high fuel costs.
Alitalia said in a statement that it would offer its planes as a guarantee against the medium-to-long term loan. The Italian flag carrier had to revise its 2005-2008 industrial plan to take into account a 40 percent jump in fuel costs.