No deals sealed yet - Colaninno
Both Air France KLM and Lufthansa are still in talks with the consortium aiming to save Alitalia about buying a stake in the Italian carrier.
Roberto Colaninno, chairman of the consortium CAI, quashed rumours that it had already done a deal with AF KLM.
He told Reuters: "We are concluding our considerations on a foreign partner."
CAI, a consortium of 16 business groups, has approved the raising of €1.1bn to buy the near bankrupt Alitalia, including the Italian government's 49.9% stake.
It plans to merge it with a rival airline Air One to form a smaller, more streamlined carrier.
Mr Colaninno said the future roles of Fiumicino Airport in Rome and Malpensa Airport in Milan would be key to deciding between AF KLM and Lufthansa.
The latter is planning to launch its own airline Lufthansa Italia from Malpensa next February and is said to prefer this airport as a hub.
When AF KLM was in abortive talks to take over Alitalia earlier this year, it indicated it favoured the Rome airport as its main base.
CAI has said it would expect its partner to take a 20% in the new Alitalia airline, keeping the majority holding in Italian hands.
Jean-Cyril Spinetta, AF KLM's chairman and ceo, has confirmed he would still like to buy a stake in Alitalia.
He told ATW Online that he was ready to invest €200m in the deal.
Mr Spinetta also said he would like to acquire the Austrian government 41.6% stake in Austrian Airlines despite Lufthansa being named as the sole bidder.
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