Thoughts on Alitalia?

[Amy]

With the uncertainty of Alitalia's future past April (when the government wants to finally sell off the airline after pumping over 8 billion euros into it), any thoughts on the wisdom or insanity of buying tickets past April? If the airline is indeed sold, what happens to those holding tickets?

Unfortunately, the very best way to get from Boston to Palermo in a reasonable period of time and at the lowest cost is currently with Alitalia's service to Rome and then Palermo. I am extremely leery of doing so, and am holding tight until Fall fares start to see sales on other airlines. Happily I'm not flying until September, but I was curious about other's thoughts on Alitalia.

 

[Alpinista]

Saw this article earlier in the year. Would trip interruption insurance cover the loss of ticket costs?

 

[Andrew]

We saw something of the risks when we flew Air Berlin this past September. I thought, of the airlines in which Etihad had invested, AB was the more likely survivor than Alitalia, and that was a wrong guess. We were lucky to return on their last flight to Boston: if it had been a day later, they'd have had us go to New York and we'd have been on our own to get home. A few weeks later there would have been no airline. The fare from a cancelled flight should have been refunded after contesting it with the credit card, but then the problem would have been getting a new short-notice ticket.

The article that Alpinista quoted, on quick viewing, seems to cover the basics. Maybe they'll continue to operate but end Boston service. You could ticket it on their partner Delta, but I think their obligation would be to get you there another way or offer a refund, and it looks like they and their main partners Air France and KLM don't go to Palermo; I don't know if they can get you all the way there.

I don't know if the sites you're searching give the option of Vueling from Rome to Palermo. They seem to be fairly well-regarded: you could do separate bookings with an established airline to Rome and Vueling to Palermo, allowing lots of connecting time and hoping nothing too bad happens with the flight to Rome.

 

[joe]

... any thoughts on the wisdom or insanity of buying tickets past April?

Partial insanity.

And in a more serious vein - I believe you recall the discussions on this airline on ST : to each his own, but we have vowed never to fly with them again. Basically you have to ask yourself : is the not-unrealistic future possibility of financial loss on the ticket/cancelled flight/general anguish - worth the savings you are seeing today?

 

[Mom83]

We fly to Italy the 3rd week of March. There were some great fares on Delta...code shared with Alitalia. Just could not convince myself to do it. So went with Lufthansa. I have never flown them before, so hoping they are decent.

 

[Sandrac]

Hi Amy,
With an Italian election coming in the spring 2018, the airline will surely survive for another six months - no one wants to deal with the during a campaign. But even after the national vote, it sounds likely that someone will scoop up its assets (and liabilities). Reuters in this article from last week mentioned Lufthansa's interest and Italian media has been reporting on that as well.
But I suspect that doesn't give you any comfort since you won't be flying here for another nine months.
Cheers,
Sandra

 

[Allen]

Last year we bought tix from Delta on code-share flight operated by Alitalia, and was very glad we didn't buy directly from Alitalia. I discovered 3 wks out (while confirming seat assignments) that without notice, Alitalia had cancelled the non-stop flight to Rome and rebooked us (again, without notice) connecting at JFK with separated seating in last row scheduled to arrive for our only play day in Rome 6+hrs later than planned (had prepurchased tix to Vatican museum). Fortunately, per policy, Delta let us choose from amongst multiple other options, so no harm done - but a close call. Alitalia's survival certainly seems far less desparate for now, but who knows for sure?

 

[Andrew]

I'm seeing this story: Lufthansa closes in on Alitalia takeover : Alitalia could become something like Austrian Airlines, a subsidiary of Lufthansa with its own national identity. There's some difference between the parties on job and route cuts.

I also see this story on Meridiana starting year-round New York JFK-Milan service, which could connect to Palermo. They have ambitions to become Italy's new flag carrier.