REFILE-BA chief meets Alitalia investor group - source

ROME (Reuters) - The chief executive of British Airways (BAY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) met the head of an Italian investor group buying Alitalia on Wednesday to explore a possible alliance between the two airlines, a source close to the talks said.

The source said a new round of meetings with BA, Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), and Lufthansa (LHAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) -- the three foreign airlines identified as possible partners for the reborn Alitalia -- will take place starting from next week.

"Each meeting will run for several days and we will start with Air France," the source told Reuters.

BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh told a German newspaper last week that a partnership with Alitalia was possible if Italian investment consortium CAI's restructuring plan for the airline succeeded.

CAI -- lead by Piaggio SpA (PIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) Chairman Roberto Colaninno -- plans to merge the profitable parts of Alitalia with domestic rival Air One and is looking for a partner abroad.

On Monday, Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported that Lufthansa was the front-runner to take a 20 percent stake in Alitalia and that the deal could be closed by the end of the month.

Air France-KLM has also expressed a "strong interest" in taking a stake, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters after a meeting between the Franco-Dutch airline's Chief Executive, Jean-Cyril Spinetta, and CAI earlier this month.

At the time a BA spokeswoman said the British airline was not planning to invest directly in Alitalia.

(Reporting by Alberto Sisto; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)