But BA has ruled out taking a stake in the revit­alised Italian airline.

Germany’s Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are considering investing in Alitalia, which is due to take off in its new streamlined form next month — barring any last-minute union intervention.

Last Monday, Alitalia’s biggest unions backed a  plan designed to save the airline after weeks of fierce opposition.
Alitalia has not made a profit since the early 1990s due to its heavy cost base.

The airline, 49.9 per cent state-owned, is losing about e3million (£2.34million) a day and has debts of about e1.2billion.

A group of investors called the Italian Air Com­pany aims to restructure Alitalia and merge it with the country’s No2 airline, Air One.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said the British airline “could have a role to play” in the new Alitalia but stressed he was waiting to see if the restructuring plan had gone far enough.

The high price of jet fuel and a looming economic downturn are accelerating consolidation in the aviation sector.

Several dozen airlines have gone bust this year, including Silverjet, while travel group XL’s collapse left 85,000 holidaymakers stranded. More groundings could follow.