ITA (Alitalia) Airline question
Taking this airline (business class) to Italy in June. On line reviews are awful. Any input from fellow Tauck travelers who have used this airline would be greatly appreciated.
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Taking this airline (business class) to Italy in June. On line reviews are awful. Any input from fellow Tauck travelers who have used this airline would be greatly appreciated.
Comments
Are the reviews current for ITA or old for its predecessor, Alitalia. I have not traveled with them (have always flown Delta/Skyteam, though Alitalia was once part of that alliance), but you are right the recent 2023 reviews are not good. However, it appears a lot depends on the class of service. While still not up to the standards of some carriers, the ITA business class reviews on Skytrax aren't too bad.
Get the Apple AirTags. Pack a carryon with extra clothing. Several years ago, we flew NY to Milan and then on to Florence. Our bags didn't make it to Florence - took 2 days, despite assurances from Alitalia that they'd be arriving any moment. Very frustrating.
I know it happens all the time with other airlines, but it was the casual indifference that was so annoying. It was Sunday and the shops were closed, and Italy was in the middle of a heat wave. I had a book and a camera in my carryon. I was a sweaty mess and we ran into people we knew from home (patients of my husband). It was my first trip to Italy and I wanted to be so "cool" and "stylish". Yeah, not.
Lesson learned...I now travel with a roller board carryon and a medium sized checked bag. Husband and I divide up our things, at least until we reach our first hotel.
In another lifetime, I might be able to avoid checked luggage. Not this one. Too much footwear. 🙄
We flew this airline home from Milan in October 2022. Tauck had arranged our flights and we were flying premium ecoomy, We could not get our seat assignments until we checked in at the airport.in Milan and they assigned us economy seats which I noticed before we left the check in counter. I argued with them for 30 minutes and showed them our paper work and they would not chage us to premium until finally I offered to pay the difference. (hoping Tauck would reimburse us) At that point they finally just gave in and assigned us seats but said they were not together. Odd because premium was not full and our seats were together.. The flight itself was okay and seemed like premium on other European airlines we have flown. The flight attendants were nice and attentive. I cant even remember lunch but sure was happy to get a glass of wine after all tht arguing!. :-) The free wifi didnt work and the movie selection was lacking. We were the last ones to board so I didnt get to get a good look at business or economy sections. We didnt have a problem with our luggage when we arrived at JFK and they came out pretty quickly.
When we were finally home I called Tauck to ask what we should have done in that situation. Customer service said we did the right thing and if we had tried to call Tauck it would have just added to the length of time it took to board. She assured me that they would have reimbursed us. We are traveling to Europe again this fall with Tauck and I will not fly with ITA again.
I flew ITA from Milan to JFK last summer in business class. I purchased through Tauck and it was considerably less than other business class fares. The plane's interior was dated and not on the level of United Polaris or Delta One. However, the seats were lie flat and comfortable. The flight crew was attentive and personable, the food was Italian cuisine and quite good. I would fly again for the savings!
We were on premium economy last fall on ITA. We were booked by Tauck and had assigned seats from Boston to Rome, then unassigned seats to Sicily. Although ITA was supposed to be part of the Delta alliance, we never got the points and gave up. Very limited bar selection, food ok, entertainment not so good. However I note that the entertainment on all the business and other flights I have taken in the last few years has been poor - likely due in part to filming challenges during Covid; some to due to economic decisions like providing old shows and movies. That's why I bring my kindle. The plane we were on was an old Alitalia plane with some of the logos etc., still evident.
We flew Alitalia years ago and said we would never use it again. I had hoped ITA would be better. We got where we were going, on time on an old plane. The only advantage to the premium economy was the size of the seats.
You do know that Alitalia is an acronym? Always late in takeoff, always late in arrival.
We are flying to Sicily in April via American Airlines, I think it is Philly to Rome and then Sicily. Not looking forward to the route as I am not a fan of Rome airport. All I know is that business class price was horrendous so we are flying premium economy. Maybe now we both have platinum status there is a mini mini chance we might get upgraded 😂😂😂😂
I don't know about American, but with United premium status, there is an automatic upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy, and a chance to get an upgrade to biz. OTOH, you could use points for the upgrade to biz. With all the travelling you do, you must have a gazillion points.
Just used all our points to get 5 seats for our family trip in the summer.