chi_town_1

Travelled this airline 10/21/06 from Chicago to Milan then on to Venice, returning 11/05 from Venice to Chicago--no problems whatsoever--the flights were on time--no lost luggage--If you wanted more beverages after mealtime all you had to do was to walk to the service station and pour(wine included)--My friends who flew on Delta the same date had a NIGHTMARE of a trip--Lost luggage and delayed flights--Thanks Alitalia!

takemealong

I had similar good experiences on Alitalia on 9/27/06 flying D.C. to Milan to Venice and again on 10/9/06 flying Rome to Newark.

caroline_edinburgh

Interested to know why you think they need defending ? I've flown with them many times & never had a problem.

chi_town_1

Thank you Caroline!-Many folks who've had a good experience with an airline never post-After having accessed several forums it seemed that Alitalia had more than its share of problems--l was 1 person who didn't-Ciao

caroline_edinburgh

True.

CarolA

My problem with Alitalia is the Italian National Strike Issue. The one time I tried to fly them they decided to go on strike that morning. (This does not appear that uncommon in Italy, but it is a hassle!)

W9London

There's a local press report (ANSA) that Alitalia flight attendants are threatening to strike in December over contracts. But then again, i'll take these news with grain of salts--could very well be a bluffing strategy from their unions.
True Alitalia has been in financial difficulty, but you can say the same for most US carriers. Anyway Alitalia's supposed to have enough cash on hands to keep on flying, at least for the time being.

LoveItaly

Well personally until Alitalia's financial, unions etc. problems get worked out I would not book with them. The Italian government and PM Prodi have said that will be sometime after the first of the year or early spring. Will Alitalia still be in business? Who knows. A different situation than our US owned airlines that are in bankruptcy. The Italian government will evidently not be able to pour more money into Alitalia due to the EU rules. Their partners are not willing to take the over unless they become financially solvent. About a month ago there was talk about the possibility of Thai Airlines becoming partners with Alitalia but nothing further has been reported on Italian news websites. And from what I read the other day the unions are threatening to strike again.

I hope Alitalia makes it through all their problems. Guess the following months will give the answer.

That is great you had a good experience with Alitalia chi_town. And they were on time too..priceless!!

ParadiseLost

"If you wanted more beverages after mealtime all you had to do was to walk to the service station and pour(wine included)"

Well I'd be knocking-back the vino for sure .

But ~300 odd people on ~10hr flight with free unlimited wine
is just an incident waiting to happen.

In this 'day and age' it's just not a very responsible thing for an airline to do IMO.
Regards, Walter

Ann1

I don't have a problem with the service onboard, I have a problem with them canceling all flights from Dulles for an undetermined amount of time (some say forever some say for 5 months) and not notifying people who already have tickets. Or someone getting a boarding pass for a flight from Dulles to Milan and never being told they don't have a return flight anymore (that happened to people on our flight) I was fortunate enough to call a week ahead of time to reconfirm and found out then. Of course instead of just changing my return, they cancelled my whole ticket by mistake. Then I called three times that week to reconfirm because I didn't receive a confirmation and they swore everything was fine. When I arrived at the airport they told me the ticket was cancelled. Or the fact that Perugia airport was closed and our friend was never notified not to show up there. They ask for emergency numbers when you get your tickets so if they can't reach the passenger, they could get the emergency number. I have a problem with writing a professional (not nasty) letter to them with the complaint and being ignored. Then calling to follow it up, and again being ignored.

Years ago it was an excellent airline. Now they just don't care.

I have no complaint about the personel onboard and behind the counter. They were great.

Things like that are why people complain about Alitalia.

mari5

Caroline: a week or two ago someone wrote in about Alitalia reservations next spring. I personally felt they would be OK,,,,but several people answered that they didn't think Alitalia would even be in business next spring and that THEY wouldn't risk a reservation.
They are a code share with Continental, (which wouldn't mean much in bankruptcy (sp?), but still I think Alitalia will be OK.
Apparently there were some articles on the future of the airline....PLUS many have written in with negative posts about them.
We've only taken it one time, MANY Years ago and interEurope and it was fine....and I'm glad to hear so many positive things "in defense". I have friends who have taken Alitalia and thought it was good.

caroline_edinburgh

Well, I've already booked an Alitalia flight for next June !

Walter, I wouldn't even consider taking a 10 hour flight if free unlimited alcohol were *not* available

Ann1

I strongly believe in travel insurance for travel overseas. If you have reservations with Alitalia I would suggest you consider it. I don't believe they will go out of business because it is the national airline of Italy, but as I mentioned in my previous post, other things can happen that you will need it.

It is a safe airline so don't worry about that.

caroline_edinburgh

Well indeed. I regard it as normal to buy annual travel insurance every year and have done so for many years.

I get the impression that it isn't so obvious to Americans because of having private medical insurance ?

Celiaanne

My complaint with them was the lack of seating assignments -- or at least ones that they live up to.

Going over, our seats were changed because of an "equipment change." Coming back, our seats were changed because of .... well, they didn't really explain why.

Our return flight was delayed for about 2 hours, and when we finally did get on, it was "open seating" -- in spite of the fact that they kept assuring us our seat assignments were still valid all through the wait time.

It certainly isn't the worst thing that could happen, but it was very annoying, particualy because people on here told us that is exactly what would happen! I won't fly them again even though their flights are usually cheaper.

As far as the flight attendants were concerned, they were OK -- what I saw of them. As others have stated, they put the drinks, and you were on your own. No one had too much to drink that I could see!

Hagan

Travel insurance will not protect you from a financial default situation in case Alitalia goes under - I already checked on it. It seems they went on the "list" of uninsurable airlines in Oct., but if they're still in business, the insurance would still cover things like lost luggage, delays and so forth, just not bankruptcy.

caroline_edinburgh

Well no, but that's what credit cards are for - I have had this happen to me & the credit card company refunded me straightaway. Not sure of laws elsewhere; but in the UK, you're guaranteed a refund from your card company if the purchase is > £100 & something like that happens.

ParadiseLost

Well here's a male chauvinistic reason not to fly them anymore .
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/...ing_Skirts.php
Regards, Walter

fishee

Alitalia was far superior in service (drinks, snacks, etc.) than Iberia Air. Oh lord, now *that* is an awful airline.

Ann1

Hagen; I wasn't talking about insurance for their default. I was talking about it for all of the other things I mentioned in a previous post. No, non of the insurances cover default, but as I mentioned before, I don't think they will go under because they are a national airline and I think the government will pull them out even though the deny it now.

As a previous poster mentioned, CCs do usually cover default. At least they did when other airlines went out that we had tickets on.