=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2002/03/29/f= inancial1518EST0125.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, March 29, 2002 (AP) Alitalia reports $790 million loss for 2001, announces closer ties with Air= France (03-29) 12:18 PST ROME (AP) -- Italy's flagship airline Alitalia on Friday reported its loss widened to $790 million last year, mainly due to fallout from the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The Italian company, which lost about $224 million in 2000, also announc= ed it was strengthening its ties with Air France. The companies will buy stakes of up to 3 percent in each other. After the September attacks in the United States, the company developed = an emergency plan that included cutting routes, grounding planes and cutting thousands of jobs. Alitalia said the attacks in the United States came as the company, already a money-losing operation before Sept. 11, was on the road to recovery. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP