Alitalia Airline will never get my business again

I wouldn't give up that easily, myself. If it is beyond the 24 hour period, can't you at least cancel those tickets and rebook them? It might not be as cheap, but you won't have wasted the whole price of the tickets.

HI KJ I am really sorry to hear about your distress with Alitalia. I have flown Alitalia in the past and would definitely fly them again. I read all those reviews, watched youtube videos after the fact, etc, after I had bought tickets to Rome. My flight was fine, on time, I did pay extra at check in to get a exit row seat (well worth it) and FCO was not the nightmare everyone says it is. Good luck and enjoy Italy, once you land the flight will be in the past.

Refunds: If reservations are cancelled at least 24 hours prior
departure, client is entitled to a full refund. If cancellations are
made within 24 hours the fees will remain non refundable, however
client is entitled to a 50% discount for future reservations.

So I'm confused? If kjbeal did take action 24 hours prior to departure - which is 9 months from the date of booking - why would there be a penalty? Was the problem that a CHANGE was requested versus cancellation? Or is the problem that the tickets were non-refundable regardless of the rules above?

We've flown Alitalia several times, and while they're far from my favorite airline (cabins have been battered, worn and without the nicer amenities newer planes have - such as seat-back screens) we haven't yet had a problem.

Many US airlines will allow a 24-hour-from-booking grace period for cancellation even on non-refundable fares -- but I don't believe it's mandatory or even universal. Certainly not required for non-US airlines on non-US flights.

There are US Department of Transportation regulations involving the 24 hour refund period that are in play if your flight involves a USA airport. (Because of this, Norwegian has a 24 hour cancel rule for flights touching American soil when it's 3 hours for their flights that go everywhere else) Read over those rules, and if you feel like Alitalia violated them, there should be a mechanism where you can file a complaint with the DOT.

I think you will have a really good chance of winning a dispute settlement with your credit card company.

Call your credit card company....tell them what you have told us.

They will ask you for the facts. You will submit a form and documentation.....that you totally goofed (sort of like making a typo...you just misread), that you quickly tired to correct this with the airline (your phone call/email)....what response you received, etc. Once you submit documents to your credit card company....they will contact the carrier, and I bet it will all be worked out to your satisfaction.

Usually in a 'dispute' you just don't pay that portion of the credit card bill until the dispute is resolved. If the credit card company does not rule in your favor, then you will have to pay.

Good luck with it, and do let us all know how it works out.

kjbeal seems not to have posted anything except this OP, so we can't know if this was an intra-Europe flight or a flight with a US stop. Or whether there was any further action.