Advise on Newark International Airport and flying with Alitalia

These have been many discussions here of Alitalia, here are some of those:

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When you get into each topic, scroll down or go Next Page to see the most recent reviews.

I flew Seattle - Newark - Rome in December 2007. I did carry-on only, checked bags coming home. Had absolutely no problems, but it might have been beginner's luck. As Frank said, Alitalia is on the verge of bankruptcy and not what we would call reliable. Plus they're nearly impossible to get ahold of if something goes wrong.

Newark itself is an OK airport. It's big and consists of several terminals. I ended up having to leave the first terminal and go get my next ticket at the counter, then re-enter security in a different terminal. Had enough time, but it was annoying and I would not have wanted to try gambling on a short connection! Newark is also near several other large airports such as JFK and Dulles, and the airspace can be crowded, leading to delayed/cancelled flights.

Would I buy that ticket? Hmm, if there weren't other reasonably close fares and I felt like gambling, sure. But are there reasons to be hesitant? Yup, many.

I think you should be very careful with Alitalia. There is a reason why their tickets are so low. They have been on the edge of bankruptcy for a couple of years, constant talk of mergers with someone but no one wants them and the Italian gov't keeps propping them up. Their service level is low and stories of lost luggage abound. So there is a somewhat higher level of risk if you fly them. But, they have been in this shape for years and continue to fly so the probability that they will be flying in April is good. But be sure to put the ticket on a credit card and travel insurance might be a good idea,

They also get all around poor reviews on sites like www.airlinequality.com and www.epinions.com.

You know, somehow I had a feeling there was something wrong with them. The price was too good to be true. It's too bad...I was getting excited at the thought of that low price :( I'll keep seaching but right now the fare N/S with A/A is $600 inc. taxes....still not bad.

We booked flt for Nov21-28 w/Delta out of Newark & the flight is still on Alitalia. So you may book thru another airline & still end up on them! I'm worried about checking bags, so am trying to figure out how i can get all our stuff in carryons only!

Although our flight across the pond was Air France, our two other connecting flights were with Alitalia. Did not check luggage, so cannot speak to that part, but, was pleasantly surprised with how efficient and uneventful the flights were. One pilot even repeatedly apologized for a 10-minute delay. I too had heard poor reviews, but no problems arose to speak of. Alitalia has launched a new partnership with Air France/KLM/Delta, so maybe some of their good practices are rubbing off on them.

All this "hype" about Alitalia is overblown: the odds of the carrier shutting down in the next year is close to zero. The Italian Government can't afford to pay unemployment to thousands of workers. The carrier will continue to limp along for the foreseeable future. I would not hesitate to fly with them for a second, if the fare were particularly attractive. Strikes rarely affect intercontinental flights, usually only Italian domestic and some European services. The greatest risk is that your flight could be delayed several hours, but Newark Airport is nice and has lots of shops for browsing. Before selecting, check to see whether Alitalia is offering the same or similar fare on its nonstop Chicago/Rome flight.

Give yourself lots of time for connections in NJ, and Alitalia lost our bags for 24hours with this connection.

Hi Linda-

I will not comment on Alitalia as I have not flown them.

But having lived most of my life in Chicago, and having flown to Newark somewhat frequently for a previous job, I would agree to allow a little extra time for connections in Newark. It's a lot like O'Hare in many respects, a big very busy airport. I would say that my personal experience in Newark was slightly worse than O'Hare for flights taking off on time.

Most travel insurance companies have blacklisted Alitalia, as their reliability, tendency towards frequent strikes, lost luggage, and constantly teetering on bankruptcy makes them uninsurable. Find another airline.