If you are booked on A'italia....
 

Check on your flight. NY Times reported today of 2500 layoffs at A'Italia and 20% cutback in flights.

Do you know what happens if your flight is cancelled? Can you get a refund?

Just called Alitalia and all flights are operating..Good Luck!!

Though they are having cut backs, they should not have effects on the flights to and from the US. <BR>The only thing that will be changing is they are taking the 747's out of service. <BR>So, those of you use to traveling back and forth with that, will see a difference. <BR>They have also discontinued flights to places not considered friendly at the moment. <BR>

Yesterday's press release mentioned that the Malpensa to San Francisco service will be suspended (I gather effective at the end of October, when the winter schedule takes effect). If true, this would be a major setback, as the much-needed non-stop flight was inaugurated only two years ago. Service to New York will reportedly also be reduced (but daily flights would still be maintained).

Spoke to Alitalia tonight, confirming our flight for Oct..All is on schedule-they won't tell seat numbers because of security,you find out at the airport,and they are flying 747's..so far so good!

All flights are NOT running. The later flight from JFK to Rome has been permanently discontinued. You will have to reschedule if you are booked on that Alitalia flight.

My Alitalia flight from London was cancelled, and I am now leaving there 6 hours later than expected. Getting to Venice after dark instead of noon. What a bummer!

Dan - Is this your first visit to Venice? If it is, you're in for a treat! Seeing Venice by water with the palazzos all lit up after dark ...

We just called to check our Alitalia flight for tomorrow, and it doesn't exist. Alitalia operators are not available for six more hours. Will they reschedule us? Will we have to pay more even though the airline cancelled? It will be more than double our original price.

Be aggressive don't expect Alitalia to be fair. I have had very bad experiences with them.

Most of my trip is on American, but Alitalia was my connection from London to Venice. I am debating whether to ask American to try to fly me on an earlier U.S. departure (my RDU flight leaves close to 7 pm) so I can catch the 8:00 British Airways flight to Venice or just use the time to spend 3-4 hours in London (never been there). I hear it is expensive to go from Gatwick and back though. At least I still have three days and now 2 1/2 nights in Venice. On the other end, my flight home now gets in after 11:30 pm versus 9:30, not good if my inlaws are going to bring our 2 year old with them to pick us up, but at least I don't have to go to work the next day. I am having thoughts of just trying to postpone the whole thing until the spring when hopefully things will be a little more predictable.

Does anyone know what happens if y our flight is cancelled and you just want to not go? Can you get a refund then?

Make sure you have a paper ticket. Remember that other airlines will not honor e-ticktes. Dan I would make the switch to American pronto. I read wicked things about Alitalia all the time on here. I was bumped last year and I showed up more than an 1 hour before the plane took off. There were about 20+ other passengers bumped and guess what we were all young and largely female, clearly a strategy. We received nothing for our trouble even though we were rerouted on a connecting flight with a long lay over. I wrote letters and made phone calls and never once received any response. I was just put off. GLAD TO HEAR THEY ARE IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE. MAYBE IT IS TIME FOR ANOTHER LETTER. Sorry for your travel troubles though.

I wish I could switch to all American Sarah. However, American doesn't fly into Venice. British Air does, but American couldn't put me on it. I may ask if I can switch to an American flight into Milan and train to Venice. The other option, as I said, is spending several hours in London. From what I am seeing in my last minute research, I should be able to have 3-4 hours in the city. That might make me feel better about losing that afternoon and evening in Venice.

Dan, <BR> <BR>American will not longer check your bags through when you have a different carrier connecting at Gatwick. In other words, you have to pick up your luggage at Gatewick, go through customs, and then go to your connecting flight. <BR> <BR>This might take care of the 3-4 hours you were thinking of.. <BR> <BR>Dick

Dick, when is the last time you flew through Gatwick? American told me Gatwick used to make you pick up your bags but that now you can check them through. I am trying to decide which is more current information, but it may not matter anyway. I am likely going to switch to a British Air flight, which American will do for me. It only saves me two hours over Alitalia, but hey it is not Alitalia either. American also told me that if I am unhappy with the changes in itinerary I can get a full refund (not something I expected), and this adds a whole new dimension to the decision. Italy now or in May? Don't have much time to decide.

we few jfk to rome and rome to jfk recently with alitalia, and had absolutely no problem at all. even the flight attendents went out of their way to make you comfortable.

Dan, <BR> <BR>It was on the aa.com website yesterday, 10/03. <BR> <BR>Dick

Thanks. If that's the case, I will likely switch to British Airways.

Dan, and anybody else. <BR> <BR>On the aa.com home page, under SPECIAL ALERT, Check here for latest flight information. Click on that link and the next page will have NEW TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS. Scroll down to Baggage checked to the United Kingdom. <BR> <BR>I was planning to go from Raleigh-Durham through Gatewick to Munich this summer. May have to fly another way. <BR> <BR>Dick

I read the information Dick. I guess it will give me something to do during the 6 1/2-hour layover. Fun, fun, fun.

My Alitalia flight for later this month was cancelled from JFK to Rome. I called and asked for a refund. I was told it is a non refundable ticket. I said, "But YOU cancelled the flight, not me." After much persistance, I think I got the refund. I will never book on Alitalia again. Their customer service is the worst.

We were scheduled for a SFO to VCE flight on Alitalia for November 1, 2001. <BR>I just got a call from my travel agent who told me that Alitalia was not flying from SFO (I think they don't have alot of passengers). We are now scheduled to leave from LAX and Alitalia is picking up the tab between SFO and LAX.

My husband and I were booked on an AlItalia flight for Sept. 14th. It was cancelled and we were given the option to reschedule, a credit good for 18 months to rebook or a full refund. We opted for the the refund with thoughts that we will rebook when we know what's going on here in America. We did go through a travel agent on this one and did not have to deal directly with the airline.

Delta Airlines had nonstops to Venice out of JFK but I don't know if they still do(at least through August they did).You ought to check that out?

Flew Alitalia Sept 18, back on Oct 2. No problems, nothing. Alitalia offered unconditional refunds for all flights from Sept 11 to Sept 25. That includes the super low bargain fairs no airlines ever give back. <BR> <BR>What you're not telling Eric is that they cancelled one of two flights out of NYC, leaving a perfectly good flight for you as promised. In fairness to Alitalia, if you have one of those $500 flights to Rome, there's nothing that says you deserve a refund because they are giving you a flight at 6PM instead of one at 9PM. <BR> <BR>Alitalia is better than they used to be.

How do you know that the earlier flight was convenient for me ? Maybe there was a reason I bought a seat on the later flight in the first place. <BR> <BR>Also, why do you think I was leaving anything out of my first post? I truthfully stated my flight was cancelled. Everyone knows there are almost always other flights a passenger can take if their's is cancelled, but that subsitute flight may not be what they want or it may not fit into their schedule. <BR> <BR>The flight Alitalia sold me was cancelled by them. I choose NOT to buy a seat on another flight. Isn't that my right? When did I sign a contact obligating me to take any flight Alitalia chooses to put me on?