Flying Alitalia Sept / Oct

This is a tough one. Alitalia is definitely on its last legs unless someone comes in to save it. The most recent deal fell through today.

If Alitalia goes under, other airlines might jump in and either honor the tickets (unlikely) or offer discounts on their own airlines.

Hopefully you paid my credit card and can put in a claim should Alitalia go under.

You might want to look into alternative transportation--even if it means a combination fly/train to get you to Italy.

When were you supposed to leave?

As of early Friday morning, Alitalia now claims it has enough money to keep flying until Monday, Sept. 22. After that is anyone's guess.

So far, BA and Lufthansa have said no thank you to an Alitalia deal.

Hi DaNeice

I don't think there's going to be a lot of good news regarding Alitalia.

I'd take out some extra travel insurance to cover your return journey. If an insurance company won't provide cover on Alitalia then that's a message you shouldn't ignore.

The European airlines are generally not sympathetic towards Alitalia and are only likely to offer the minimum legal assistance. Sadly it's the passengers that will face the brunt of any lack of co-operation.

We've just had phone calls at work ( I work for a UK airline ).

Alitalia are cancelling flights. Not all flights but some flights. It looks bad.

The BBC is reporting it as well:
http://tinyurl.com/5265bk

The news today in Italy is not promising. Six of the nine Alitalia unions refused concessions and the buy-out group has suspended negotiations. The evening news reported the Economics Minister saying any thought of nationalizing the airline "is absurd." Maybe that will bring the unions to their senses and negotiations can resume.

Airline officials say they will keep flying as long as they can buy fuel. (That would be anywhere from 3-5 days) Pilots and Flight Attendants have agreed to work.

However, flights have already begun to be canceled.

And some of the unions have actually said they'd rather see the airline go under than to give any concessions. (Explain this to me. They'd rather lose their jobs than try to save them.)

ONe bit of advice that came out in today's WSJ was that if you are thinking of buying a ticket on a questionable airilne, see if they are part of an alliance and buy it as a codeshare on a stronger airline in that alliance. This way, if the weak airline goes under, the stronger airline still has to honor the ticket and find an alternative for you.

The guessing now begins on who's next.

They are literally advertising for bids on their website and are now saying they will stop flying Thursday if nothing comes through.

To quote the AP "Alitalia, Italy's once-proud national flagship, sent up an SOS on Monday, publishing a final appeal on its website for investors to take over the deeply indebted company and its fractious unions."

The EU may pull Alitalia's license even before it runs out of money.

I think it's safe to say...Arriverderci, Alitalia.

I have a feeling either other Skyteam members (Delta, Continental, Air France/KLM, Northwest) or Air One will take over most of the international routes between Italy and North America. Perhpas they'll honor some of the Alitalia tickets--or at least partially honor them.

But that's just a guess.