Alitalia Reviews?
Has anyone flown Alitalia? I have purchased tickets, and now am reading reviews online, and it seems like most people have very negative experiences with customer service, missing or damaged luggage, and rude attendants.
Since I'm flying from Chicago to Pisa (with about a 1.5 hour layover in Rome) from May 6 - May 15, I hope it's just a case of the people with good experiences being quiet about it and the people with negative experiences voicing their displeasure.
Antuany
Chicago, IL United States 4/11/09
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It is an airline that has been in serious financial trouble for a long time. If it is not in bankruptcy now it is on the verge of bankruptcy. I lost track of that saga some time ago. Given those conditions, I doubt if there service level is all that good. I hope you put the ticket on a good credit card that will stand behind you if need be.
Did you purchase the cheap $400 per person Alitalia tickets to Italy? I fell for their ad campaign back in March 2009. Not sure if you've read my recent message titled 'Flights Cancellation' in the Transportation section of RS. It is my first time flying Alitalia next month. My credit card has not been charged since I purchased the tickets 3+ weeks ago. The Customer Service call center sucks. Their typical answer so far has been "... the computerized reservation system is not working". I'm not having good vibes about Alitalia. I just hope they honor my flight tickets. I've lost count of the number of stories about Alitalia resisting various merger & acquisition attempts.
Hello, Antuany. When I was a travel agent, Alitalia was absolutely the worst airline to deal with - (even worse than one airline that would not refund a passenger who died before his trip). I have never flown with them personally, but with the experiences of my customers, I would never fly them personally, nor recommend them.
I hope you have a great trip. Is it a direct flight from Chicago to Rome? That should help. Also - after reading all the horror stories on here, and other places, I'd keep any valuables in your carry-on. Clothes can be replaced quick enough! :)
In January, Alitalia was bought and merged with Air One, Italy's largest domestic airline and rebranded Alitalia. They are going through some growing pains.
There were a lot of problems late last year prior to the purchase and the airline was virtually a day away from bankrupcy before it was bought.
You don't say when you're going to Rome, but you might think about taking out some type of insurance in case something happens.
I have flown Alitalia to Rome a couple of times. I found it to be no better and no worse than most US airlines. I've come to expect very little and I settle mostly for an on-time departure and arrival with bags intact. Alitalia met my expectations -- and I always get a reasonable airfare.
I am flying this June with Alitalia from Boston. I am hoping for a smooth trip.Can someone let me know about the carry-on policy. It seems small since it only allows the weight of a bag to be about 11 pounds. Thanks Deb
Go see this extended discussion had here in 2007 and 2008 about travelers' experiences with Alitalia: http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?fuseaction=readtopic&topicID=4370&page=1
Thanks for all the responses.
Yes, in late March, I did get the great round trip ticket prices from Chicago to Pisa with a stop in Rome for $387.30 each. I was not able to get the tickets to go through on-line, so spent 3.5 hours, 5 calls to my bank, and another 2 calls to their customer service in Sicily, but the tickets finally went through. My credit card has already been charged, and I have the e-tickets.
I'm departing Chicago on May 6 and returning on May 15.
It's good to know to pack my valuables in my carry-on. I might pack an extra pair of clothes to based on their tendency to lose luggage.
Hopefully at least the trip to Italy is trouble free. For the price I paid, I can deal with customer service in Chicago, but would hate for it to put a damper on the trip while there.
Hello Antuany, I to am flying Alitalia soon and after reading the reviews I am a little concerned. I do agree with Dick, I don't expect much from any airline and therefore I'm not disapointed with what I get. I will be going from Tulsa to Chicago and then to Rome (my Chicago Rome flight is Alitalia). I figure my luggage is in the hands of the baggage crew in Tulsa and Chicago (coming back is a different matter but by then who cares). Check your flight often for cancelations or changes, do pack extra clothes in your carry-on and think possitive, you're going to Italy!
Not to put rose-colored glasses on, because I might have gotten lucky, but I flew Newark-Rome and back again in December 2007 and the flights were perfectly fine. I did carry on only going to Rome, but all my checked luggage made it on the return trip (unlike the subsequent trip when KLM left our bags in Amsterdam despite assuring us they had been loaded onto the plane!)
The flight attendants were professional, if not memorably nice, the food was airplane food but not horrid and I even recall liking the fish I had. The first there landed about half an hour early, the flight home departed about half an hour late. The plane was an older model and so there was no seatback entertainment. Instead, the movie played on overhead monitors spaced out down the aisle. On the way over this was OK, but on the way home I was at a bad angle. Also, you obviously can't control what's being shown.
Despite being quite concerned, having read the bad reviews and it being my first international trip (and first out-of-state trip alone), I have nothing bad to say about my experience with Alitalia. Hopefully you will be just as lucky. :-)
We've flown Alitalia without incident, even checking bags...direct from Chicago, and with changes. I think this airline has serious problems with financing and labor and customer service, not exactly things that inspire consumer confidence. But on the other hand, hard to imagine the nation's only major carrier being allowed to go under, no matter what the EU advises. While it seems apparent that a much higher percentage of travelers have problems with Alitalia than with other airlines, I imagine it's still true that the majority--as has been my experience, now, with two trips--make it through just fine. I guess it comes down to this: if you get a good price with Alitalia one decides to roll the dice a bit with customer service or pay more for peace of mind.
My wife and I recently flew Alitalia from Newark to Rome and back. The two flights could not have been more different. Going to Rome, we checked in in about 5 minutes, the plane was nice and the crew was friendly and efficient. The food was not that bad either. However, our return trip was anything but pleasant, and memorable for all the wrong reasons. We got to Fiumicino a little over 3 hours ahead of our 10:45am flight the Saturday before Palm Sunday. It took us nearly 2 hours just to check in. Passengers on flights to Miami, Boston, and Chicago were leaving before ours and the staff called them ahead in line. There were periods where only 3 booths were open and there were hundreds of people in line. Some employees would come to the desk, take 15 minutes to check in one person, then LEAVE!!! It was really frustrating. I understand that things don't always go smooth in Italy, but this was the weekend before Easter with 5 flights going out within an hour and only 3 employees checking people in?!?!? The return flight was on AirOne(?). The staff was very rude. We were in the last row and they kept slamming the cabinet behind our seats, even after we asked them to stop. It took them forever to serve lunch and a snack (granted we were in the back). When it finally did come, the food was terrible. So, I suggest getting a meal at the airport before. The airline attendants didn't even throw our garbage away when we were done. I had to take it back to the kitchen area and the made me throw it away after looking at me like I was crazy. We also hit a LOT of turbulence on the descent (everyone was starting to get worried) and we didn't get any communication from the pilot that everything was OK. I am a pretty easy traveler, but this was the worst airline and worst flight that I had been on.
Good new is that was the worst of a fantastic, Rick Steves' guided trip.
We just flew Alitalia round trip JFK to Rome. I didn't like them. I call it an airline with an attitude. Not that friendly, foor less than good and can be decievingly pricey. Now, saying that we took off and landed on time both ways. But I would fly Delta next time.
Tom - what do you mean deceivingly pricey? What were the extra or hidden fees?
To answer you question, we bought our tickets in the early part of the summer when ticket prices were high. We had friends that did the same thing on other airlines. Our friends were able to get money back when fares lowered. In fact, one airline offered it without even asking. When I asked Alitalia they didn't even respond for the first few requests. When they finally did they were rude and did refuse any discount. I think we would have gotten friendlier service and better pricing from another airline. I also found the people that worked for the airline to be 'unfriendly'. We booked months in advance and they even screwed up our seating. Our family had to sit apart.
But,I wll say they were on time. I will give them that. But next time Delta. I don't need the attitude or the price
Tom
Thanks Tom. I got a really good price on tickets, and was worried that there was some kind of hidden fee that I wouldn't find out about until I was in the air.
Hi, I'm flying Alitalia (operated by Air One) from Newark to Pisa, with a 90 min layover in Rome. I don't plan to check in luggage but is 90 min sufficient to clear immigration and make it to my connecting flight? I can't find any information on the alitalia or FCO airport website on layovers. Please help! Fingers crossed that my flight doesn't get canceled or postponed!
My husband and I flew Alitalia in October 2008. Our flight was canceled 10 minutes before boarding time due to an Alitalia strike. We waited 2 hours to retrieve our luggage, and another SIX hours in line to get re-ticketed. They did put us in a hotel overnight though, and we flew out the next afternoon. Not just Alitalia, but customer service at the Rome airport was not great in general.
My family just flew Alitalia from Rome to London two days ago and, although the flight on board went well, everything else was a nightmare. We arrived at the check in counter over 2 hours ahead but were informed that Alitalia had overbooked the flight and we (as were several others) couldn't get on the flight. We had a connecting flight the next day with another airline and the experience cost us over $3,000. Everyone we dealt with from Alitalia was rude and tried to blame us for their mistake. We were sent from counter to counter and even to another terminal and no one helped. We spent over 10 hours trying to get another flight out before we left the next evening. I have never encountered such dismal customer service.We twocouples who were not allowed on board due to similiar situations. We will NEVER fly the airline again and I would strongly urge anyone else to consider another airline if possible.
This is a three year old thread, revived by a first-time poster. Take it with a grain of salt until it's determined that "Lin" actually exist. FWIW, we really enjoyed Alitalia and had no problems.
Agreed Michael...Hopefully there's more to the story. One leg of my flight over 2 year ago was canceled (Pisa to Rome), but the ticket agents and other Alitalia staff were not rude and did not blame us. After some initial confusion, they arranged a bus to Rome for everyone scheduled to fly. When we arrived, right after the gates from Rome to Chicago had closed, we got in line, got our flights rebooked (for not fee), and put up in a hotel. While there were some minor language barriers, it was nothing that we couldn't resolve.
I flew from Miami to Rome twice on Alitalia (once it was listed as a Delta flight but it was Alitalia) and once from Rome to Lamezia Terme and from Reggio Calabria to Rome. I have never had any problems, the flights have always been on time and no one was rude. The food was good. One year I used another airline after reading all of the bad press but last year decided to fly with them again since they had the best price. And frankly, all of the airlines have problems. Check out the website flightstats.com to get actual performance information.
It was bad. I have really taken Rick Steves' advice about becoming a "temporary local" to heart, and adopted an attitude of all smiles, attempts to learn the language (I try, and am understood 90% of the time) and being polite in the face of abject rudeness.
I would never, EVER fly this airline again. I had no real need of customer service, but when we tried to call just to ask a few questions, it took days to get a person on the phone - then they hang up on you. The food was awful - just horrible, and the flight attendants seemed annoyed I didn't clean my plate. I don't need attitude on a 12 hour direct flight.
I think that this airline and the FCO airport exist in their own little rudeness bubble - the people in Italy were not at all like this, and even taught me a little Italian.
I'd rather sit on a Southwest flight for 12 hours and exchange tiny seats for pleasant service.
Wow, Patricia. What a lousy experience you had! Do you mind if I ask when this was? They've really turned things around in the last few years under new management. For example, the food we got last year was delicious! And the customer service was wonderful.
I heard privately from Patricia. This happened to her just a couple of weeks ago on the nonstop flight between LAX and Rome. Yikes!
I never take the time to write a review but this time I had to! I have never had a good experience with this airlines. The staff is rude in Italy and in the states! I need wheel chair assistance and literally was only pushed in a chair...I was told it was my job to handle my carry on and purse. No one helped me put it in the over head compartment or to get to me seat!
I called 10 times to see if my flight had been cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy. I was never contacted by the airlines to let me know! Every time I called someone gave me a different story. Not one operator gave me the same answer!
I was stuck for a week after my original flight date! Once I arrived they charged me $350 in luggage which was different then what it had said online. I asked to speak with a supervisor and the supervisor treated me like I was garbage on the street. I was told that I had to pay now and ask questions later. So basically they steal your money and then when you ask questions later there is no one there to answer them!
I live 1/2 the year in Italy and 1/2 the year in the states and I travel often...I have had a bad experience with Alitalia in the past and swore to never fly them again...I should have kept to my word.
So my suggestion to anyone is if they offer cheap tickets it's for a reason...They will get you in the end! Pay a little extra with another airline and be happy!!
Yikes I just purchased tickets for our trip to Italy at the end of June. I sure hope things have improved! I wish I had checked this first!
Although Alitalia is definitely not an award winning airline in service, however I bet most people have had problems with all airlines at one time or another. Overall however the chances of having a really bad flight are low even with Alitalia.
The problem with Alitalia employees is that they feel entitled since it's so hard to fire people in big companies in Italy. There is no incentive for them for doing a good job nor penalty for not doing a good job. So you are left at the mercy of those employees who take it upon themselves to do a good job out of their own good will.
So if you run into Alitalia employees who do do a great job, show your appreciation with a smile and a thank you, because you've been blessed. I'm sure they'll at least appreciate that, in spite of working in a country where merit and excelling at work takes you nowhere.
Note that the thread, regularly reopened by a few, is from April 2009.
Alitalia is now in a "code share" agreement with Delta Airlines, and they've improved service dramatically since this original old thread.
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