Alitalia is convening a shareholders' meeting on next month to appoint a new board.
The move comes as Air France KLM declined to comment on a report that it had decided not to bid for the troubled Italian national carrier.
There were also reports that major bankers were lining up to be part of bids to take over the loss making airline.
Alitalia was hit last week when two of its four board members resigned.
The two resignations forced Alitalia to cancel a planned board meeting last week because it no longer had a quorum of directors.
Gabriele Checchia, Italy's ambassador to the Lebanon, left because he could not devote the necessary time to the airline.
But the departure of Jean-Cyril Spinetta, group chairman and ceo of Air France KLM, which has a 2% stake in Alitalia, renewed speculation it would bid for the carrier.
But Air France KLM, according to Reuters, said it had "absolutely no comment" to make on a press report that it had decided a bid for the Italian carrier would be too expensive and that it would also be too difficult to re-structure Alitalia's network to fit theirs.
The Financial Times of London reported that major investment houses like Goldman Sachs and the Texas Pacific Group were set to be part separate groups planning to bid for the carrier.
The Italian Government, which owns 49.9% of the carrier, has set a deadline of next Monday, January 29 for anyone wishing buy up to 30% of its stake.
Up to four groups are expected to emerge, including one led by Air One, Italy's second largest airline.
The silence of Air France KLM has not stopped speculation that it might also be one of the bidders.
* see BTE's recruitment site www.businesstraveljobs.com