Lisa - My biggest problem with Alitalia, when we flew with them several years ago, was the smoke. If you are a non-smoker, check to see if they still allow smoking. It was almost unbearable. Good luck - Carol

Do a search for Alitalia on this forum. You will get an earful.

I've flown Alitalia from NYC to Italy at least 6-7 times and have no complaints. Also, their international flights are non-smoking (I'm sensitive to this as I don't smoke), so that's not a problem either.

My neighbor is Italian and refuses to fly Alitalia from LA. Bad attitude, he says. Rocommends Swissair instead. We love Swissair, and are taking it to Italy this spring. Inside Italy, you have to take Alitalia to some places. Flew it years ago and I remember the attendants did wear chic uniforms! But then, Italians dress well!

Carol - Can you tell me what the carry-on dimensions are for Alitalia?

I am going to Italy in March on Alitalia. I called for info on carry-ons. Lenght, +width, +height, can add up to 45inches ,and not exceed 11 lbs
Seems quite restrictive.

After having heard and read so many bad things about Alitalia, I too approached recent flights (just a couple weeks ago) with them with great trepidation. However, I'm happy to report that there was no smoking on any of the four legs (Newark-Rome-Palermo and Palermo-Milan-Rome), nothing out of the ordinary, and my vegetarian meals on the transatlantic legs were actually fresh and pretty good (can't vouch for the chicken or fish). So although folks continue to smoke in the airports standing right under NO FUMARE signs (however I did actually see one cop in the Palermo airport make the rounds and tell people to put out their cigarettes), as far as I could tell once you are on the plane the bucks stops there.

The attendants also seemed pretty lax with the carry-on requirements, within reason. At one point we were told in Palermo that we could only take on 1 carry-on each; however, we ended up not having to check in anything. We each took on 2 bags (1 small, under the seat, and 1 larger to go in the overhead bin). But we pack pretty light and the larger bags would probably both be under the 45" total. However, I can vouch for the fact that they weighed more than 11 lbs!. Hope this helps some.

With Alitalia you are taking a chance. My family had three different terrible round trip experiences with this Airline. If you do a search on Alitalia at this travel site, you will get tons more bad experiences than good ones (mine among them in detail). They are really bad.

Last summer, my wife and I flew on Alitalia to Rome, from JFK. After dinner, my wife asked the flight attendant for a second cup of coffee. The reply, simple stated, was "no, but maybe at breakfast time".

On the second segment from Rome to Naples, we flew on an Alitalia 727. The "Cooper" type with the steps that open down from the rear of the aircraft. When we were allowd to board, they allowed passengers to embark from the front and rear at the same time. Have you ever experienced a Chinese Fire Drill on an Alitalia boarding procedure?

The rest of the trip was great.

ron

just wondering...it seems to me many complaints about smoking on the trans-atlantic flights were from a couple of years ago. in general has the no smoking rules been better inforced over the last year or 2.

Having heard so many bad things about this airline on this site, I was reluctant to book them for our honeymoon this July. However, due to the flight times and the cost involved, Alitalia was the best choice for us to fly on from Dublin to Venice, with a return from Naples. I'm not a smoker and do not expect people to smoke on a non-smoking flight...I hope this rule is strictly enforced here in Europe. I'm expecting this to be the trip of a lifetime, so I hope Alitalia starts it off right. I'll give you an update when we return. Good luck to the rest of you also travelling on Alitalia in the future...have fun!

have used atalia many times. boston to milan or rome and bombay to rome. it no better or worse that anyother airline. the food is horrible but so are most others. if you get a good fare go for it. the flight is but a short part of your vacation so ignore it and have fun with the rest

I fly Alitalia from Los Angeles to Milan. They're not great, but they're not awful either. If you read most of the negative comments, they have to do with smoking...IT IS NOT ALLOWED...food...well, what do you expect in economy class, or the attitude of the crew...I have seen passengers badger the crew about every little detail, from engine noise to water pressure in the restroom.

From LA, it's a long 11+ hour trip. The only thing that could make it better would be a king size bed and my TV with my remote.

If you want to see some photos of Italy visit my website: www.jimtardio.com/italy.html

stick to United or Lufthansa.