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  • Alitalia is shutting down with all future flights cancelled starting Oct. 15

Alitalia is shutting down with all future flights cancelled starting Oct. 15

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For those who have flown Alitalia countless times, either to travel to Italy or elsewhere within Europe, it’s the end of an (imperfect) era. The Italian carrier is closing its doors on October 15, 2021, after serving as Italy’s national carrier for 75 years.

Effective August 25, Alitalia is no longer selling any flights for beyond October 15. All Alitalia flights that had been scheduled to fly after October 15 have been canceled.

The Italian state-owned airline, which is part of the SkyTeam alliance that includes Delta Air Lines, Air France, and KLM, has had long-standing financial problems and declared bankruptcy in May 2017. Add to that the global pandemic, which dealt a devastating blow to the airline industry—countless flights around the world were grounded for months last year and international travel demand has still not returned to prepandemic levels.

Those with Alitalia flights that were booked by August 24, 2021, for travel that takes places after October 15 will be given the option to change the flight to a comparable flight—flights in Italy can be exchanged for flights within Italy, and international bookings can be changed for international flights—as long as the new flights take place before October 14 (both the departure and the return). Passengers will have to pay the fare difference for a change in destination. Alternatively, those with flights after October 15 can request a full refund.

Starting October 15, the new, government-owned Italia Transporto Aereo (ITA) will take over as Italy’s national carrier. ITA said it plans to operate flights to New York from Milan and Rome, and to Tokyo, Boston, and Miami from Rome. Destinations from Rome and Milan’s Linate airport will include Paris, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, and Geneva.

Initially, ITA plans to operate a fleet of 7 wide-body and 45 narrow-body aircraft and will add 26 more planes later this year. By the end of 2025, ITA aims to have a fleet of up to 105 aircraft.

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Alitalia carried 21.3 million passengers in 2019, according to the CAPA Centre for Aviation. The carrier currently has some 10,000 employees. It is unclear what will happen to those employees and whether the new company will take some of them on.

Alitalia also confirmed the details on Twitter and said that customers should expect additional communication from the airline with details on how to proceed with rebooking a flight or requesting a refund.

The airline has additional information for passengers with MilleMiglia award tickets booked for travel after October 15 available on its website. It’s not clear, however, what will happen to any unused miles after October 15.

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]