Alitalia pilot marches towards government offices during a protest in central Rome
An Alitalia pilot marches towards government offices during a protest in central Rome September 15, 2008. Alitalia's biggest unions clinched an initial deal with the airline's potential buyers on Monday, raising hopes it could avoid collapse, but pilots balked and flights risked being grounded for a lack of cash to buy fuel. Italy's four main unions -- CGIL, CISL, UIL and UGL -- and a consortium offering to buy Alitalia agreed to the rough outline of a rescue plan that would cut about 3,000 jobs but leave 12,500 workers at the slimmed-down airline. REUTERS/Chris Helgren (ITALY)