I'm planning on flying Alitalia to Rome on 9/24, returing from Naples via Rome on 10/6. Today I just read a disturbing article in the Wall St. Journal talking about how they don't have enough cash to last through the end of the month. They said there is chance the gov't may take over and be forced to liquidate the airline and ground their flights!

Does anyone know details about the situation? Should I be calling Delta (who I boooked the flights through) to see what my options are? Should I be worried or doing anything about this?

Looking to hear opinions from people who might be in the same boat.

Thanks!

I'm leaving on 9/16, returning 9/27 on an Alitalia flight, code share with Delta. Since I purchased the tickets for a Delta flight, I would hope Delta would be responsible for getting me back from Rome if the Alitalia does go under while I am there. Is this wishful thinking?

You should talk to Delta. I seriously doubt Alitalia will be around much longer. Bloomberg News seems to be giving the best, most up-to-date coverage:
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news...p;refer=europe

When, and IF,the airline stops flying is when you should worry about it...but if you enjoy worrying in advance, well...

I'm hoping the fact that I booked through Delta gives me some protection, but I'm not sure.

With regards to worrying in advance, the only reason I'm doing that is because I want to make sure I have enough time to deal with potential hotel reservation / cancellation policies so as to not lose any deposits.

There is another thread that has been running for a while about this. Do a search for Alitalia, you'll find it.
The latest is that yesterday Alitalia met with the unions and advised them of their proposed plan, which was to cut 5000 jobs and transfer more to another company they would form to handle ground operations. The union today rejected the plan.
Alitalia needs to get access to the 400E million loan from the government, but they can't unless they have a plan in place by September 15. There is still no plan in place, and they are attempting to negotiate with the unions. Without the plan and the loan, they do not have enough cash to operate beyond this month.
Keep watching the news. Airwise.com has regular stories on this, as does cnn.com.

The odds look strong for Alitalia to stop operating any day now. If that happens, if the Delta flight was what they call an Alitalia code-share, you most likely would not be protected, as this is not really a Delta plane. Already, Continental flights are sold out this coming weekend in anticipation of Alitalia going out. Let's hope for the best with the government bail out. But it does not look promising

Another thread on this issue
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...3&start=50

I cant get air France to give me a straight answer yet. My ticket into Italy is with air france , though operated by Alitalia. as im flying into Verona im a bit concerned that this might be cancelled...

Almesq:

When today did the unions reject the plan?

They announced last night that "the plan, as announced has to be changed". And that "Unions reconfirm their willingness to look for all possible solutions including via productivity improvements"

Which to me is all union-speak for "OK, we'll sort of come round eventually".

Now it's a while since I did real negotiations in Italian, so maybe my understanding of the nuances is a bit dated.

But I can see absolutely nothing on the wires right now to support your claim of rejection. Or mulifat's claim they'll stop operating soon.

My bet is that the unions will buy a modified version of the package sometime late on September 15.

But I would bet as little on that - or any other - outcome as I'd bet on American or French airlines honouring debts incurred by a bankrupt Italian airline if I'm wrong.

I would just like to clarify one issue here: only those tickets ISSUED by Alitalia would become useless in the event that the airline ceased operations.

All other tickets, even if they include segments on an Alitalia plane (codeshare) and/or flights with an AZ... number remain valid. The issuing airline is responsible for getting to your destination and back and must reacommodate you on other flights. You could still face significant delays however.

With a paper ticket, you can see which airline issued it on the upper lefthand corner of each coupon.

As far as e-tickets are concerned, the issuer is the airline that sold you the ticket.

Hope this helps,
Andre

I called Delta, who issued me my tickets thru Orbitz, and they confirmed that it's their responsibility to get me home from Italy with one of their code shares (Continental/Air France).

Maybe I'll be a volunteer to spend a couple of extra days in Rome while the airlines sort the whole thing out.

I booked my flights for October through Expedia.com. The tickets are on Delta operated by Alitalia. I just called Expedia and they said we were confirmed on the Delta flight but we just have to check in through the Alitalia desk! (lets hope there is one there when the time comes) I would be really surprised if the airline we are booked on refused to honor our tickets - they must have been paid for it right? If anything happens, can the Credit Card companies do anything. Now Im scared!

flanneruk: I read this morning on I believe either (or both) cnn.com and bloomberg.com that the unions rejected the proposal, and that they would be meeting again this afternoon with management to present the union's joint counter-proposal. They have also called on the government to intervene. And, the smallest union, the CUB union (certain ground crew) has staged some sort of "hunger strike" and is considering a blockade of the airport in Rome as well as possibly the port.
I didn't mean to suggest they weren't negotiating anymore, it sounds like they are. Obviously, it would be bad for all if they went out of business. I can't imagine the union would rather have all 20,000 employees lose their jobs than "only" 5000 being proposed by the airline.
As for Delta honorning tickets, if you purchased a Delta ticket, and happen to be on an Alitalia codeshare, Delta will obviously honor those tickets, but they might have trouble getting you on a flight along with everyone else. I just got "back up" tickets on Delta (fully refundable, just in case) and they told me that this other flight was almost fully booked already. Obviously, many people are getting back up tickets just in case.

Aine, you should be fine. Since you're booked on the flight physically operated by Delta, you should be ok.

is it likely that they will cancel/substantially reduce flights to destinations like Verona?

Depends when you are going. If they do come to an agreement that includes job cuts, and other reductions, they may well reschedule or eliminate some flights. I would think, however, that this will take some time to work out. If they can reach an agreement and get the emergency loan, that would keep them going beyond the end of the month and give them some time to finalize and implement the new plan.

For anyone interested, here's a link to a page at MSNBC that has several articles from today with the latest news:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/?querytext=...ction=fulltext

I've read that the pilot's strike has been postponed until October 15th.

http://www.whatsoninrome.com/strikes.php

Negotiations with labor unions will continue tomorrow.