A reborn Alitalia could be in place by the start of November after a deal on its rescue was reached with key unions at the weekend, the head of one of the investors buying its core assets told Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper.

"November 1 remains an attainable target for the start of the new journey," Intesa Sanpaolo chief executive Corrado Passera told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

"But there are still a lot of deadlines, appointments and operating problems that need to be resolved during October," he added.

Passera, whose bank was initially advising on the latest stage of the drawn-out sale process, said the CAI investor group had made changes to get union agreement to their plans which were "painful" but that were "all logical and compatible with the industrial plan."

The once-reluctant pilots' unions agreed to the rescue plan in the early hours of Saturday, leaving just flight attendants who will have further talks on Monday.

The breakthrough is a major victory for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was elected in April promising to find Italian rescuers for the loss-making airline.

Talks with an industrial partner, likely to be either Air France-KLM or Lufthansa, could start next week, the man who will be chief executive of CAI in the plan, told Il Messaggero newspaper.

"From next week we could sit round the table with one or the other to look at routes, synergies, advantages," Rocco Sabelli said in an interview published on Sunday.

Sabelli said the choice would be based on industrial rationale.

While Employment Minister Maurizio Sacconi told Corriere della Sera newspaper both contenders were on an equal footing at the moment, the head of the Anpac pilots' union told Il Giornale that he thought CAI's plan would favour Lufthansa.

"In reality, an Alitalia based on Rome is an Alitalia for Air France-KLM, an Alitalia based on Milan is for Lufthansa. The plan CAI has shown is very much balanced toward Milan," he said.