Has anyone flown Volotea Airlines? I am having a hard time finding cheap flights Naples to Palermo or Catania. Alitalia has a few flights but the cheapest fare will not let you reserve a seat or check a bag. The next level ticket is more than twice as much money. I'm concerned of not getting on the Alitalia flight because it will be overbooked. EasyJet and Ryanair do not fly this route. The 9 hour overnight ferry takes too long and does not seem a good option for a female. Thanks for anyone's thoughts about Volotea.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I haven't flown Volotea but Ihave flown Alitalia, it was fine. Volotea gets good reports on this forum.
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2456 posts
Cris, I flew Volotea in 2014, reverse direction -- one hour flight from Palermo to Naples. It was fine, no problems at all. Very inexpensive fare, and if you happen to catch the right day, they offer some incredibly cheap fares. There are some modest fees over and above the basic fare, and they are least when you sign up for them when booking -- seat selection, etc. You especially need to note their baggage allowances. I saw right off that I could not carry on all my stuff that I had carried on for my earlier international flight. So when booking, I paid for one checked bag. I think it was €15 at that point, but would have been considerably more later on, and even more at the gate.
Posted by
OP
Boston
68 posts
Thanks to you both. That is really helpful It is hard to book an airline I had never head of before.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Have you looked at Alitalia's International website? It often has much better prices than the US website, for the exact same flights, and unlike the Italian Alitalia website, the International one has an English language option.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15798 posts
cheapest fare will not let you reserve a seat or check a bag Are you sure? Other budget airlines let you do both, just charge extra. I wouldn't worry about reserving a seat, it's a short flight . . . how bad can any seat be?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16240 posts
Volotea doesn't get very good reviews on the various web fora (but which airline does nowadays?) but the flight is so short (less than 1/2 hour) that you should be able to endure any bad service or uncomfortable seats. I think they have strict weight restrictions on checked bags, so read the requirements on their websites.
Posted by
OP
Boston
68 posts
Thanks to everyone for the helpful information! Happy Travels.
Posted by
OP
Boston
68 posts
Does anyone know how to book Alitalia on their international website? I have tried and tried and the website stops me after I enter my credit card. The Alitalia customer service rep wants to charge me the US price which is more than double. Ideas? Grazie.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Sorry - no ideas, except to try a different card, and make sure you have notified your bank of a foreign charge.
I had no difficulty booking on that website with my US credit card in late 2013, but of course that was then, and these things can change. My card was "Verified by Visa," but I don't remember if I had to use that password or not.
You can try the Italian Alitalia website. It's all in Italian, but now that you've seen the International website, it should be easy to understand. I booked one ticket on the Italian website without difficulty, before I knew of the International one - but again, this was in 2013.
Posted by
Washington DC
28487 posts
Sometime within the last week or so, I read a suggestion to try using PayPal on this forum, and I think it was in relation to some sort of Italian purchase. Sorry that I don't remember the specifics, but if you have a PayPal account, why not try using that?