Italy's Postal Service Helps Ailing Alitalia Italy's postal service, Poste Italiane SpA, has stepped in to help the debt-ridden national airline Alitalia. The government said Thursday that Poste would help recapitalize Alitalia and ensure service amid concerns that the carrier might ground to a halt without new financing. News reports have said it needs a capital increase of 300 million euro ($406 million). In a statement, the government warned that Alitalia requires a "profound revision" in its industrial plan to guarantee its future. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Alitalia's 62 years as a state-run company ended in bankruptcy in 2008. The present Alitalia began flying in 2009 as a new company owned by a group of Italian investors. Currently Air France is the largest shareholder with 25 percent.