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Is It Safe To Fly Alitalia Again?

November 13, 2008 at 3:30 PM | 0 Comments

Short answer: Probably not. While the European Union said Wednesday that a group of new investors could take over the money-hemorrhaging airline, Alitalia will also have to pay back a €300 million ($377 million) rescue loan it received from the Italian government. No one's quite sure where that money's going to come from.

Meanwhile, some staff are organizing impromptu (i.e. wildcat) strikes at airports, delaying departures and forcing flight cancellations. Italian newspaper La Repubblica says even the corpse of a woman headed to Albania can't get where its going, languishing instead at Fiumicino. While Italy's labor minister has suggested the strikes are illegal, that's of little consolation to stranded fliers.

The new Alitalia is supposed to debut on December 1. Will it be ready to fly by then? And will Ryanair's allegation that this takeover is against EU rules further stall the much-needed makeover? We're not planning to find out.

Related Stories:
· EU Backs Proposed Alitalia Takeover [AP, via Google]
· Alitalia Protests Continue, Government Eyes Options [Reuters]
· Ryanair to Appeal EU's "Corrupt" Support [AFP, via Google]
· Fiumicino: Even a Corpse, Delayed for Days [La Repubblica, in Italian]

[Photo: Alessio85]

First-Person Flight Reviews: How's Alitalia Doing?

October 14, 2008 at 11:05 AM | 0 Comments

As we mentioned less than a month ago, Alitalia is still holding on--and somehow has found enough money to fill the fuel tanks. Though the airline is still flying, not many reviews have been trickling in. But on ReviewCentre, one user doesn't have anything nice to say:

We flew Alitalia from AMS-MIL-AMS. It was one of the worst airlines I've ever flown and I will avoid Alitalia from now on. The service was terrible, the plane was ancient. Never again. I don't understand how KLM can partner with such a terrible company!

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Adventures of Link: Alitalia *Still* Exists

September 30, 2008 at 5:00 PM | 0 Comments

Maybe we were a little early with this lolspeak macro for Alitalia?

After weeks of financial dealings that make the congressional bailout package look like third grade math, the carrier announced a deal with unions to keep it alive. Now that flight attendants have signed off on the rescue plan, it's time to (attempt to) sell Alitalia off piece-by-piece to investors.

At the very least, the airline has earned a re-up for its license by bringing all its unions on board: Alitalia has permission to fly until at least March 2009--as long as it can come up with the cash to buy fuel.

Related Stories:
· ENAC Confirms Provisional License [AGI]
· Alitalia Investor Board Meeting Thursday [Reuters]
· Unions Clear Way for Relaunch [Guardian]
· Alitalia Rescue Hits Next Stage [FT]
· Flight Attendants Sign Rescue Plan [CNN]

Your Daily Alitalia Soap Opera Update

September 25, 2008 at 11:15 AM | 0 Comments

Alitalia apparently still has some hope of staying alive, after a couple of key unions signed on for a rescue plan that might also include selling a small stake of the carrier to Air France-KLM. The Italian airline could lose its license to fly if a plan to pull it out of bankruptcy doesn't come together by the end of today.

Little problem though: Pilots and flight attendants still haven't agreed to the latest deal. And that interest from Air France is--at this point--not guaranteed. (That carrier actually tried to take over Alitalia earlier this year but gave up because of trouble with unions, among other things.)

So while there's a glimmer of hope today, we're not rushing out to buy tickets on Alitalia. Then again, we never were. Maybe that was part of the problem?

Related Stories:
· Italy PM Aide Seeks to Revive Deal [Reuters]
· Last-Minute Hope to Save Alitalia [IHT]
· Alitalia coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]

Adventures of Link: Alitalia Not Quite Finished... But Close!

September 22, 2008 at 5:15 PM | 0 Comments

The Alitalia saga continues today, though so far the airline hasn't been grounded by Italy's civil aviation authority.

When we checked the carrier's website on Friday, it was still offering trips around the country and even internationally. Today, though, you'll also find a last-ditch effort from the airline asking for buyers. (It'll be published in some European newspapers tomorrow.)

You've got to admire the tenacity of Alitalia's "special administrator," who's been charged with finding any way possible to keep the airline aloft. But Silvio Berlusconi's spokesman said it best:

Buyers are not queueing up for Alitalia.

Related Stories:
· Alitalia's Days Numbered [Reuters]
· Alitalia Sends up SOS for Bids [AFP, via Google]
· Alitalia Could Be Grounded in Three Days [Telegraph]
· What if Alitalia Fails? [TIME]
· Alitalia's Not Quite Dead [TCF]

Alitalia Situation Somehow Getting Worse

September 19, 2008 at 3:15 PM | 0 Comments

Things for Alitalia somehow look worse than they did earlier this week, with passengers wondering if the carrier has enough cash to cover the fuel for its flights. (Alitalia says it does.) Meanwhile, Italy's National Civil Aviation Authority says Silvio Berlusconi has until Monday to fix the crisis--or it'll ground the carrier.

Berlusconi--who made fixing Alitalia a major campaign promise--is blaming airline unions for refusing to OK his most recent rescue plan. Fliers are already abandoning the airports for safer travel options; the state railway company is adding trains between Milan and Rome to accommodate the extra traffic.

Meanwhile, there are still lots of deals being advertised on alitalia.com: Want to flee Rome for the Sicilian town of Catania? That's just €92 each way! But, uh, book with a credit card!

Related Stories:
· Berlusconi Given Deadline for Alitalia Rescue [UK Times]
· Alitalia Flies into Uncharted Territory [FT]
· Alitalia Officially Italy's Most Ridiculous Airline [Jaunted]

[Photo: andreagraziadio]

Alitalia Officially Italy's Most Ridiculous Airline

September 17, 2008 at 11:50 AM | 0 Comments

We always thought of Eurofly as Italy's worst airline, but you can't deny it offers up killer deals. But Alitalia has just surged into first place among unbelievably horrible Italian carriers.

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Bankrupt Airline Buzz: Is Alitalia Next?

April 10, 2008 at 2:16 PM | 0 Comments

Last week's billion-dollar Air France-KLM bid for our struggling amici at Alitalia was going once, going twice... and frustratedly yanked off the table. The generally-awful Italian carrier is now a strong contender for the title of "Newest Bankrupt Airline in April," and we're only 10 days in.

Alitalia's fate has been hanging in the balance of Italy's recent--and trademark--political turmoil. The drama could reach a climax this weekend when Italians head to the polls to elect a new leader, the majority of whom support media mogul Silvio Berlusconi --whose nationlistic stance doesn't gel with the Air France-KLM deal.

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Cell Phone-Loving Italians Thrown Off Plane

January 23, 2008 at 2:57 PM | 1 Comment

When the captain of your Alitalia flight tells you to turn off your mobile, you'd better do it. After asking three passengers to stop chatting three times, he'd had enough and called in the cops. After they got dragged off the plane, everyone else could finally fly from Milan to Bari.

Normally we wouldn't give any press to these three jerks. But the fact that these were Italian guys makes this story so perfect. We can just picture them with their sweaters elegantly draped over their shoulders, hair perfectly coiffed, screaming into their tiny little phones.

Still, no matter how good you look, you gotta follow the rules on airplanes. Even in Italy.

Related Stories:
· Take-off Aborted Over Mobile Phone [News.com.au]
· Will Cell Phones Bring Down a Plane? [Jaunted]
· Where Cell Phones Now Dare to Tread [Jaunted]

[Photo: Dom Dada]

How Fly Is Eurofly?

May 14, 2007 at 12:11 PM | 0 Comments

Remember back in the summer of 2005 when we were stoked for the age of Eurofly? Well now it is time to check in on how things are going for the low-fare kid sister trying to emerge from the shadow of Alitalia.

The former subsidiary of Italy's largest airline broke away from its parent company in 2005 and started offering additional destinations earlier this year, including Pescara and Lamezia Terme.

Round trip flights start at $800, according to a recent profile in National Geographic Traveler of no-frills airlines crossing the Atlantic these days. We did a quick Expedia search and found a round trip ticket from JFK to Rome on Alitalia in mid-July for $798. In fact, a story in USA Today says a sample fare from JFK to Rome on Eurofly costs $1,159 (including taxes and fees) versus $1,283 on a major carrier. By foregoing the extra flight options and legroom, you save enough to cover cab fare to and from the airport.

So is Eurofly the Jan to Alitalia's Marcia? Not according to Gianfranco Zaccai at Business Week, who says Alitalia fails to offer travelers extra comfort and needs to take a tip from Ikea about customer service. We're not seeing a connection between our old dorm-room dresser and a trans-Atlantic flight, but apparently the two are linked.

Related Stories:
· Eurofly Coverage [Jaunted]

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