Air France officially ran away from the Alitalia altar this week after months of union opposition and verbal jabs from Italy’s prime-minister-elect, Silvio Berlusconi, who called the bid “humiliating.”

What’s a spurned airline to do? Italy can’t bankroll the flailing airline forever, but it did recently approve a $475 million emergency loan, providing short-term stability until the next lucky suitor comes along. But even the loan is precarious, as Italy might have broken a few European Union state aid rules.

That means Berlusconi is forced to play matchmaker, and has reportedly lined up an unnamed Italian business group that will be making bids on the airline, a move that’s sure to spark the interest of other airlines. We’ll believe it when we see it, as the story sounds suspiciously like the imaginary girlfriend abroad.

It’s more likely that Alitalia is getting the eye from Aeroflot, with Forbes.com reporting that the Russian Airline was "waiting to have an offer to get back to talks."  Aeroflot is interested, but has made it clear that Alitalia must do the courting.

While the wheeling and dealing of the airline industry might be scintillating, business travelers should know that there is a very real chance that Alitalia could declare bankruptcy and abruptly cease operations. Avoid the drama and book elsewhere.