Who's traveled on Alitalia?
 

Just wondering what your experiences were...

We (a family of 5) flew Alitalia from Newark to Milan roundtrip in March 2006 and had a good experience. We had good food and good in flight service. Our luggage was delayed when we arrived in Italy and we were later reimbursed by Alitalia for clothing purchases made until we got our luggage. Would fly with them again.

I flew Alitalia quite a while ago, in 1998, but it was a great experience. They had really nice big seats and great service.

We flew Al Italia business class a couple of years ago. It was great experience. By far, the best airplane food and wine EVER. The service was friendly and helpful at all entry points.

I've flown Alitalia lots of times between Geneva and Boston (transf. in Rome or Milan). They are fine, no better or no worse than any other airline I've flown.

good to know...I was a little worried. ah well- now my biggest panic is the strike that Trenitalia is planning....& our train is right smack dab in the mniddle of it. We don't have a guaranteed train, the one before us is & I'm trying to figure out if I can change it. Does anyone know if they give refunds in the case of a strike?....they should.

I, too, flew Alitalia a long time ago, in 98, and it was a good experience.

Alitalia Economy caters to Italian family travel. Try for a seat in the front of the section.

We flew coach in late Feb/early March this year from Boston to Milan to Rome (got a really low airfare using this route) It was ok in most respects but the meal coming back from Milan was the worst airline food (maybe the worst any food) we have ever had.

I have flown them many times from the US to Italy and never had a problem. The only negative I can think of is that on a flight from Cairo with connection in Rome, my bag was misplaced and delivered to my house the next day. And that was more than 20 years ago so they are fine in my book!! AND they refunded the entire price of my ticket when I had to cancel for medical reasons!

We just flew Alitalia from JFK to BLQ thru MXP. Flights were fine - only 60 minutes late. Enough connection time so we did not miss connecting flight. That flight was 20 min late. Don't expect anything from flight attendants after the meal service. If you want water, you have to go to the galley and the attendants will point to the cups and water. In the event of an emergency, I bet the crew will be the first ones out of the plane. Food was surprisingly good. Return flight from MXP to EWR was 20 minutes late. We had to check one bag and when we got home, I noticed my expensive sunglasses were taken out of the bag. (I forgot to remove it) We flew on free tickets and that's the only reason I flew them. They are lax on safety - no announcements when paxs are walking while plane is taxiing, a women went to the bathroom on takeoff! We were late both times because attendants were not firm with pax that did not like their seats. I expected worse - just hope they don't strike. It's a nightmare and they won't compensate you.

Our experience on Alitalia has been limited, but we have had no problems with them. I know they are absolutely destroyed by rating services like Eopinions, and I wonder if it's because they tend to operate at extremes...very good or very bad. We experienced only the former, perhaps because we were flying Business Class (Magnifica, as Alitalia calls it), although on frequent flier redemptions. We were flying into Chicago and then on to Rome. Our flight into Chicago (on United) was delayed, so we checked on our luggage when we boarded the Alitalia flight to see if it had made it aboard. They were only able to account for two of our three pieces, and on the flight over, attendants gave us detailed advice about what we should do upon our arrival in Rome to track the lost luggage. Food and beverages were also top-notch. As it turned out, when we landed in Rome, all three of our pieces were the first off the plane, so there was no need to implement emergency procedures.

Our trip back to the States was equally fine. We were waiting in the Alitalia Lounge prior to boarding (another of those Magnifica Class perks), and I was thumbing through a guide for the Venice Bienniale, which I had thought about buying while we were in Venice on our travels but had not done so because of the 20 or 25 euro price. The attendant who was clearing my wine glass told me that I was welcome to take the lounge copy since there were many more. Sure thing...I liked Alitalia back in 2005!