Some people believe that passengers don’t have to cry over some of the weaker airlines in Europe being put out of business because of the high price of fuel. Many of the airlines that are under a threat offer poor services, are surviving because their operations are conducted in a protected market, and fly very old aircrafts. Alitalia, for example, is only still running due to the government injecting millions into the company in order to keep it operating. Twenty years ago, the carrier was the behind of jokes, but not very much has gotten better since then, and passengers should have more worries about flying with a semi-bankrupt airline, where maintenance is one of the areas that will often get squeezed whenever money gets tight.

As the aviation sector in Europe moves into their winter massacre, regulators are going to have to be more proactive about monitoring their standards. In the US, the Federal Aviation Authority has already taken a tougher grip on the maintenance of airlines to make sure that none of them are tempted to take the easy way out on safety procedures. Furthermore, as some of the weaker airlines in Europe go bankrupt, the environment will get a great benefit since many of them operate aircraft fleets that are much older, which use more fuel and emit more toxic gases into the air. On the other hand, the downside is that passengers will not have as many choice when they are deciding who to fly with, which could mean a higher price in airfare.

Find out more at: www.alitalia.com