ROME - THE last unions holding out against a deal to salvage Alitalia signed a plan on Monday to sell the bankrupt airline's good assets to a group of Italian investors.

The breakthrough with the AVIA and SDL unions, which represent mostly flight attendants, came after a meeting with the investors and government officials, the premier's office said.

All nine Alitalia unions are now on board.

Pilots, who had been resisting the deal, agreed to the plan last week after the investors made concessions, including on the number of layoffs.

The investors - led by Roberto Colaninno, chairman of the scooter maker Piaggio - have pledged to inject euro1 billion (S$2 billion) into the loss-making carrier, strip away unprofitable assets and merge it with Italy's second-largest carrier, the much smaller Air One.

They also are looking for an international carrier, possibly Air France-KLM or Lufthansa, to take a minority share.

When unions first balked at the plan, which includes route eliminations and at least 3,000 layoffs, the investors withdrew their offer and Italy's civil aviation authority threatened to yank Alitalia's license.

But after negotiations resumed last week, Alitalia's bankruptcy administrator, Augusto Fantozzi, said the airline should be able to keep flying until it is absorbed by the new company, possibly by mid-Oct.

In spring, a bid by Air France-KLM to acquire Alitalia was defeated by union objections. -- AP