The WORST airline ALITALIA

I just had both my 2 pieces of luggage lost by the crapy Alitalia, I got one the day after, but the 2nd one was lost for many days. When I finaly got my luggage, many items were missing from my luggage. I heard so many storries on lost luggage with Alitalia, I will NEVER fly with them again. Some people got only a few clothes items back in plastic bags.... it is that bad with them. You never know what will happen at the other end. They are absolutly usless.

I would be careful as well because they are currently losing 1 million euros a day and there is a slight possibility of liquidation and collapse. See http://www.forbes.com/markets/2007/07/24/alitalia-klm-bid-markets-equity-cx_vr_0724markets17.html.

hence the reason to travel with just a carry-on bag, just like every person on a Rick Steves tour does. They can't lose your luggage if they never had it.

you can't really travel just with a carry-on if you go somewhere for 2 months. WHen you check in your luggage, you expect to have it back. Am I right?

Monica..my daughter and I traveled 8 weeks in 8 countries. We each had a Rick Steves' 21" Roll Aboard and each had a day back pack. It can be done. We took 4 sets of clothes each and 2 pairs of shoes.

We mailed packages home approximately once a week. My daughter changed out her clothes several times during the trip. Purchasing new clothes and sending others home.

We did our laundry at least every 3 days in the sinks of the hostels or hotels. We took 2 gallon zip lock bags and used those in hostels.

One would be surprise at the complete list of items we took with us.

I even took 4 plastic clothes hangers and clothes pins along with 2 of Rick Steves' stretch clothes lines.

9 pounds of camera equiptment, batteries, PHD, etc.

We were fully loaded but managed. LOL

I always travel carry-on. I've taken trips to Europe 3-8 weeks long all with about 18# on my back, bag plus all contents. It is indeed doable, but for many it would require a shift in perspective. Only a few changes of clothing, with frequent washing-by-hand is what works for me.

you CAN travel for two months+ with only a carrty on! it's a wonderful experience and i suggest that you give it a try sometime...

i'm sorry to hear about your lost luggage though, i guess i'll stay away from alitalia.

:))) thanks JB for your feedback... sounds a lot of adventure...:))) I'll might try that one day. But in the mean time, I'lll just stay away from ALitalia. hahahaha

As you may have heard of Alitalia are in SERIOUS economical trouble and today was meant to be d-day about their future. Their brand new chairman of the board has already quit his job, the EU have ordered the Italian government to not put any more money into the airline which the Prodi administration as also agreed to. The final date about whether or not the airline will be dissolved is now Aug 30th. Should no investor come up by the end of this month it'll be Ciao Alitalia.

Alitalia isn't the worse airline, but they rank high. I have heard Iberia has problems too. It really is the luck of the travler when you go on vacation.

As for 2 months and not able to use a carry on? Monica, you're talking to Rick Steves fanatics!! Of course it is possible to travel for 2 months with a 20 inch suitcase and a backpack.

Its really up to what you feel you NEED to take with you. If you are the type of lady who needs to bring everything plus your kitchen sink, then carry on only is not for you. IF you're willing to pack light, mix n match, and do washing while on vacation, it is possible to carry everything.

Oh my gosh!!! I had no idea that this was happening to Alitalia. nor did I know that they were on the verge of collapse. We are traveling via Air France to Paris and then to Rome via Alitalia in early october. What the heck are we suppose to do now?

They lost my husband's suitcase and my suitcase. They didn't deliver it to our hotel -- we had to trek back to the airport and dig through the PILES of luggage to find it.

Not only that, but after we booked the flights they cancelled the flights we were on and rebooked us on different flights. I should have listened to my gut and gotten new tickets (this was a few years back), but I was assured that it would be unneccessary, all I would need was the new printout with the changes along with the old tickets.

Worked fine on the way to Rome, but on the way home they insisted that since we had made flight changes (from flights that no longer existed) we would have to pay $75/person per leg of the trip to change the tickets. Nothing we said would change their minds, so we paid the fees so we could get home! When the credit card bill arrived we found they had charged $150/person/leg! We disputed it w/ expedia and they managed to get the money back for us about 6 months late

Alitalia haven't lost my luggage but have been late every time I have flown with them in the last 2 years. I suppose the staff morale is not great if the airline is in such trouble. Not sure I'd be highly motivated. There is also the airline ONE which I have flown a couple of times when in Italy and it was fine. Think I'll definately use them when there next year.

Wow... I just called Air France to see if I could change my Paris to Rome leg of our travels from the Alitalia flights. They said it would cost $200 per person to do that, plus any difference in the airfare. I guess we are going to have to take our chances and try to not check bags... I'm not sure this is going to be possible...

A big thank you to all of you that replied to this, at least people will know how bad they are and avoid this kind of issues like some of us had.
I cancelled my return flight back with Alitalia to Europe and book another one with a different line. I prefer to loose some money here instead of having my entire luggage lost.

I'm really worried now. For our honeymoon, I booked our flights on Alitalia and don't think we can cancel now w/o paying a hefty fine. Are there really more negative experiences than postive experiences?

I had a positive expereince on Alitalia originating in Toronto with non-stop service to Rome (and back). I didn't check my luggage, so perhaps that's part of the reason I didn't have problems, but the flights were on time and the service was acceptable.

Sue, as long as you are not flying to or from Rome, you might be fine... not sure what to say as it is very hard to say something like this after what happened to me. But I did heard that most of the bad things happen in Rome... or don't check your luggage... but if you go on your honeymoon, I assume you have "some" clothes... by the way, Congrats.

unfortunately, we are flying into and out of rome. i can probably tolerate bad service but based on all the reviews, i can't tolerate lost luggage. i think we are going to plan to carry on our luggage.

Sue, we are going to do carry on only as well. We too are flying in and out of Rome. I was really worried at first too, but now I think we'll be ok... as long as we don't check anything.

If you can travel with only carry on... go ahead... best solution is not to check in luggage with Alitalia and don't eat on the plane. Last time I got an expired sandwich... the answer I got from the attendant when I brought this to his attention was "don't eat it if you don't want".... nice service, right? They are by far the WORST!!!

I spent two weeks in Italy this summer followed by 6 days in Florida for a business conference and managed quite nicely with carry-on only.

However, I wouldn't have been able to do that if I'd been flying Alitalia since their weight restriction for carry-on is only 5 kgs! What's that... like 11 pounds or so? Sorry, but my bag weighed 18 lbs when I started the trip.

Monica, I'm with you. I can't travel with only a carry on for a long trip. I couldn't even travel for one week with only a carry-on! My husband and the two other men we traveled with didn't even do that. I don't feel like hand washing clothes in the sink makes the clothes quite as clean as a wash machine. We sweat so much sightseeing everyday that we couldn't have handwashed all the clothes that we soiled. Plus, we weren't in each hotel room long enough to let the clothes dry. I prefer to fly with an airline with a good reputation and just see my luggage on the conveyor belt on the other side...

Amy... we are definetly on the same page... can't do that either.
For all those that can't just travel with a carry on... STAY AWAY from ALITALIA if you still want your luggage.

I just flew Alitalia from Rome to Boston and had a perfectly fine experience all around, and my luggage came out just fine and quickly. I think the problems may be exacerbated when people have flight connections and whatnot, but they are not ALWAYS bad. The plane was new, modern, comfortable, the food was pretty good for a plane (got 2 meals), the flight attendants were nice as can be and I had no problems with my luggage. I feel terribly that so many people have had a bad experience with them but I just felt like I should post my positive experience as well so that people know they are not ALWAYS bad.

Lucky you Debra... one good experience and soooo many bad ones.... I'm sure you see my point.
For those ones that had really terrible times with Alitalia, it's very difficult to see or understand the nice part.

I have been curious to see if Alitalia will still be trading after talk of the financial difficulties and 'd day' anouncement. I have just read on their website that their implimented 'plan for survival/transition' ( love that name) is on track and they will be OK for the next 12 months. Didn't read it all but losses weren't as bad as anticipated and customer numbers are up.

Flying with British Airways where you're only allowed ONE carry-on per person is challenging, and we can't meet the challenge. We each have a rolling bag and a small backpack/tote bag; will check the rollers and keep medications, extra glasses, clean undies, snacks, books in the carry-ons. We've never had a prob w/ BA and luggage before and hope this time (we leave 10/4) will also be fine.

Just flew Air France from Philadelphia and had to change planes for Rome. The plane ran late and Air France did great getting us in our Rome flight just before they closed the doors. Our luggage did not make it. After watching for our bags in Rome, my husband went to Air France and they said it would be delivered that night to our hotel. Air France called our hotel and said it would be arriving the next evening seperately on 2 different Alitalia Flights. Our bags did show up, but my favorite rain jacket was missing and it was the last thing I packed inside my luggage. The bag zipper was secured shut with an Alitalia wire tag. I really could have used my rain coat the last week of our trip when it poured in Venice and was cold. Even though I traveled Air France, my luggage went Alitalia from Paris to Rome and things we taken.

Hello Marie... this is just "normal" for Alitalia. If you read the rest of the stories, you will see, this happened to me as well. Few things were missing from my luggage but, to be honest, I was happy to get the rest of my stuff and not have the entire luggage lost forever. This is just Alitalia, in Rome or Milano, items from luggage will always go missing... unfortunately... That's the reason why I will NEVER fly Alitalia again.

Wish I had knew my bags would land up on Alitalia and not Air France. Do you think a TSA lock would have made a diffence? I did use one flying home, just in case my bag didn't make the connection in Paris with me. I brought home all my gifts and souviners in my carry on.

Just flew last week from Rome to New York on Alitalia. The plane was not as "new" as others but it seemed to have more leg room in economy. I had traveled 2 weeks in Italy with a carry-on. I know my carry-on was over-weight plus I carried a day-pack and a rolled up poster. I carried everything on the flight with me and no one questioned it.

GULP I have a flight from Frankfurt to Prague, with a layover in Rome, and Prague to Paris, with another layover in Rome. I'm not too concerned about the luggage, since it will be one carry-on, but I'm concerned about being late and keeping my schedule, or them changing the flight. crosses fingers

Good luck Joe, hope all will be fine. At least your luggage will be safe.

We flew home from Milan on Alitalia on 10/6/07. We were lucky in that nothing was lost or damaged. Have to say that Malpensa airport is really bad. Very disorganized, poor communication. We went through check-in and had our passports scanned, went through security and went to the gate. There were 20 seats at the gate for an international flight on a 757. Then, they brought in some laptops and rescanned everybody before they could go through the gate. This was a real challenge as everybody was just jammed in together. Also, it's the only airport that I've seen where they have a service to wrap your luggage in plastic. I guess this is so no one can get in it to steal things. Quite an endorsement about the staff. Certainly will want to avoid that airport if I can in the future.

I've seen plenty of Airports where they offer the service of shrink wrapping your luggage. It also helps protect your luggage from damage and not just theft. I don't think this service was offered in relation to theft by Airline employees. (I'm sure you were just adding some comic relief!)

Theft by Airport personnel is relatively low in comparison to the thousands or millions of pieces of luggage processed each and every day. I'm confident that the majority of Airport Security Screeners and Baggage Handlers are honest, hard working people.

Flight Attendent, you obviously love your job, and for you it is not just a job , but a career( just by the way you talk about it on these boards I can tell you are one of the "good" flight attendents), but even you must realize that ground crew( luggage handlers specifically) are often paid alot less then flight crew, do not get free flights, and generally consider their jobs just that, jobs. That can breed an atmosphere of dishonesty in some people who may feel entitled to rout through peoples things and figure they may as well help themselves occasionally, it probaly seems like such an anon. crime,they can't see who they are hurting.

Not most staff of course, but definately some are theives, and they have shown this on t.v with hidden camera exposees.

Sorry my spelling is horrible.

There's an recent article on kirotv.com regarding theft from luggage, but it focuses on US airports. Interesting (and scary) read....
http://www.kirotv.com/airports/index.html

Flight Attendant, it is indeed very nice to see that you care about your work. I'm sure you don't work for Alitalia...:)) as that was the only time when some items from my luggage were missing. So you see where I'm coming from and I'm sure all the others that experienced similar situation know that too. Their attitude about everything and not being helpfull at all, made me say they are the worst. I was shocked about their attitude, knowing other airlines that are always trying to help.

I hear you, and I do know where you're coming from. When I check luggage (I do so only when I absolutely HAVE to) the thought of theft/loss definately does cross my mind. I try not to travel with anything I can't afford to lose. I try to keep my luggage as ratty and undesirable looking as I can get away with. We get high quality luggage provided but when I travel on my own I use an older, well scratched up unlabelled Samso. I figure if it looks like my luggage isn't all that flash, a thief might assume my stuff inside is low budget, too.

The good news is, post 9/11 HAS brought increased security or at least increased awareness of security. Screeners and Baggage handlers are subject to Police Records Checks and with increased cameras and employee monitoring, it has become more of a challenge to rifle through luggage and not be caught. Or at least caught on camera! Most Airlines (in CDA, anyway) have a zero theft tollerance policy. But unfortunately, it isn't always a guarentee...

Anyone else who flew recently with Alitalia? Are they still so bad? Are items from suitcases still missing?

Hello! New poster here. I've got a flight coming up from Chicago to Dubai via Milan then on to Europe. It's all on Alitalia and I'm so disheartened to hear about the luggage drama! I'm seeking advice. The trip in total is 2 1/2 weeks. Should I attempt just the carry-on? Should I risk an inch or two and a pound or two over? Should I just check my luggage and hope for the best? Thanks for your help!

Hello ML and welcome. First of all I would never fly with Alitalia again, but now that you have the flight I would strongly suggest to have just a carry-on. Much better and at least you know you will have your luggage at the end of the flight. It was really bad not to have my luggage for so many days and when I got it there were many items missing. I had a return flight with them too but I cancel it and booked with some other company. I lost some money there but at the end I had both pieces of luggage and not items missing.Hope this helps a bit.

I have a question for those who's luggage has been lost on an Alitalia flight. When your luggage was lost, were there several/alot of other people on the flight with lost luggage as well, or just you or just a couple people?

I was on a flight once (not Alitalia) where about a quarter of the luggage was lost (some eventually was found), so I'm just curious.

I don't have statistics to quote but...Did you know?

One of the leading causes why "lost" luggage is never returned to it's rightful owner is because Passengers fail to label their luggage both inside and out.
It may be located but by that time, the tag has fallen off and no other information can be found inside the bag.
I'm not excusing the problem of lost luggage here, just raising a valid point.

hallo everybody, I'm writing from Italy and I've travelled a lot around the world with many airlines exceptAlitalia; I've heard they have many problems, strikes and everything, but, not to justify them, problems and bad service is everywhere. I've had very bad experience flying with Lufthansa (flight overbooked, no refund, etc.), and last summer with Delta, the worst flying experience in my life: delays of hours on all their flight, broken airplane on my way back with forced overnight stop over and finally lost luggage, all added with very few information and bad help from staff.
That's said, I really enjoyed my holiday in U.S.A.
Sorry for bad english and ciao a tutti

Hello Sergio,

I'm wondering why you never fly Alitalia??? So many flights and never Alitalia, you being and Atalian.

Like you said, indeed, other airlines have their faults, but I personaly never had so many with no one else but Alitalia and like you see there are so many other people that experienced the same.

I really hope Alitalia is getting better for those that are still flying with them, as I really don't want anyone to experience what I've had.
As I said before, I will never fly Alitalia again.

Iberia is the worst. I travel about 20 times a year and there is nothing that compares to them. I flew Mongolian Airlines once and it was much better. The whole experience gave me a horrible impression of Spanish people and I wondered if they were all just plain stupid. Sorry. But if you heard my story, you'd agree. I knew something was wrong when I arrived at the airport to check in at Washington, DC and the ticket counter agents could barely speak English. That's a bad sign. It got a lot worse. STAY AWAY FROM IBERIA. Pay more if you have to or fly another airline but I guarantee you I'm doing you a favor.

I'm wondering how an unsatisfactory experience with an Airline could have been so bad that it would give someone a "horrible impression of Spanish people" in general?

Iberian Airlines does not represent Spanish people in general. Nor does the "stupidity" of it's employees reflect on the Spanish people. No, I am not Spanish, nor do I work for Iberia.

If Travel broadens the mind, can't we be a little more tolerant than that...?

I guess I should consider myself lucky that I, (along with 6 other travelers) didn't lose the valuables from our luggage after we were bumped from our Alitalia flight. Our nightmare began when we arrived 2 hours before our flight to Amsterdam (where we were to connect with our next flight to USA) to find 300 people in a line that snaked 20 feet beyond the entry point. To make a long story short, we pulled out of line 50 minutes before the flight departed and went to a check-in window after over an hour of waiting. We were told that the flight was closed and that we had to rebook with the Alitalia ticketing window. They refused to rebook us on another flight unless we paid the $200 fee/per person. We explained how we had waited in a line (where they were calling out passengers behind us in the line for other flights), the woman said that there was no line and that we should've arrived 3 hours before the flight, not two. We slept in the airport and flew home the next day. Never again!

So sad to still hear that Alitalia is the worst... and still people have so many problems with them. Indeed, for many of us was the last time with them... same for me, NEVER AGAIN.

OK, now I'm REALLY worried. I just got back from a trip and had a connection in Rome. When I got to my final destination, my checked luggage was not there. I've been checking the status of my lost luggage online and it just says to check back later since no information is available. I've called the airports that I flew to as well to talk to the lost baggage contacts, but nobody seems to know where my bag is. (One person even hung up on me while I was in the middle of asking a question.) Now I am back in the US, without my luggage. Any advice on how to go about getting it back (preferably all of it, in one piece)?!?? How long should I wait until I give up all hope? I wish I would have done more research before booking the flight....

Wow, I'm so glad that we carried on for the Alitalia portion of our trip from Paris into Rome! The plane was in pretty bad shape - my seat was broken internally somehow. The last thing I wanted to do was rely on them for my luggage at the start of my trip.

Hello Gloria, you should go to your home airport and talk to them in person, otherwise nothing helps. Like you said, on the phone you don't get any answers and it's sooo true. They are useless and things can get worst. I don't want to scare you but that it the best you can do. This is how I got my luggage even if I had things missing, I was happy I got some back. If your luggage got lost in Italy, you can expect to have things missing... that is how this works....

Can we please put this thread to rest? We all know Alitalia has it's issues. We're just beating a dead horse.

Hello Jarrod.... no one is asking you to read about it. If there are still people who want an advise about what to do when comes to Alitalia, why not helping them. Many are still first timers... so there are many reasons why still talking about Alitalia.

Thank you to all that are still helping those that need our help.

Jarrod , have to say I am on board with Monica, threads like these may be "new" to some posters, plus we can just " not look". I realize it may seem like "beating a dead horse" but everyone needs to vent , and this is the place, especially when some of the cautionary tales can be very helpful to others who may not be experienced travellers and may not have heard about certain airlines, hotels etc.

All experienced on these boards know about pickpockets, but, just think of how many newbies come on these and similar types of boards and haven't got a clue.

Good news: I got my luggage back! It was a week late but nothing was missing from my bag. I was plesantly surprised, considering all the horrible stories I've heard. And yes, my bag was in Rome. Go figure.

Gloria: Good to hear that--your bag probably had a great time in Europe with the extra week.

Happy for you Gloria, you got your luggage and that's great.

Try googling "lost luggage" or follow that with the name of an airline. None seem very good.

Richard, I do think you are right! I fly for a Major Canadian Airline as does my SO and NEITHER of us check luggage unless we absolutely have to. I/we would rather live out of a 17" Cabin Carry-on only than use our baggage services. I worry more about it being delayed or lost and not so much about it being stolen from by Handlers.
The very first time I deadheaded to Europe I was inexperienced enough to check my luggage with my uniform in it...Guess what? The Airline I was DHing on lost my luggage! (Not Alitalia) I couldn't believe my luck!

My show time the next morning was just before 6AM. My luggage had not yet been delivered. There was no way to get a replacement Uniform...I ended up reporting for my Flight dressed in street clothes. I had to beg the incoming Crew to run into the Lav with me and literally switch clothes! TRUE STORY! And a lesson well learned! It's probably the first piece of advice I'd pass on to travellers...Keep all essentials in your carry-on!

Thanks FA, you always give good advice.I'm just thinking that I have a flight in a few days to NY from Europe and I have so much stuff, I'll have to check in the big piece but I will carry the small one.
By the way... I'm not flying Alitalia this time...hihihihihi, but like you said, all airlines have lost luggage. I just hope I'll have more luck this time.

ABSOLUTELY TRAGIC!

I've flown with AlItalia once and it was as bad as a bus ride i had across south america once. the plane was shaking and rattling nonstop toronto - milan.

I vowed never to fly Alitalia ever again.

having said that; my father flew in from Rome to toronto last wednesday with AlMighty Italia
sure enough they Lost his luggage.

I have ben on the telephone non stop for the past week trying to simply get a human voice to speak to me with no avail.

the only number where they seem to pick up the telephone is for reservations.

the 3 telephone numbers my father was given to contact are total duds.

no one will pick up or i have a recorded announcement thanking me for calling and telling me how important my call is to them and how someone will be with me shortly.

as i am typing this message, i have been waiting on the phone for the past 3 hours.

the message is also directing me to make things simpler by visiting there website at www.alitalia.ca

visiting www.alitalia.ca is another bowl on its own.

there are absolutely no contact info on the site.

the numbers either Do Not Work or you will get a broken record to wait and how important you are to them

bottom line; There is a very good reason why Alitalia is going out of business. Avoid Al Italia like the Plague.

Its worth it to spend the extra $200 to avoid this mess.

So sorry to hear Alitalia is still a disaster.... I promised myself I will never fly Alitalia again, they are indeed, by far, the worst!!!!

I would actually like to hear some recent information and experiences with Alitalia. We were originally booked through Alitalia on one leg of our trip (Rome to Amsterdam) for Mid-May....but were recently informed that the time changed and its now with AirOne. They just merged, right? I shouldn't get excited about not flying with Alitalia, right? Anyone have any recent experiences?

Getting ready to fly Alitalia at the end of the month and had NO idea all this stuff was going on with them. Does anybody have anything positive to say? Should I have any hope? I realize that people are usually more willing to post comments when things go bad rather than when something good happens. Anybody have any recent comments about Alitalia that are actually good?

Thanks :-)

Gus, I'd be interested in hearing how your flight goes at the end of the month. I'm flying Alitalia from Chicago to Pisa on May 6. I'm also worried, but optimistic.

I'll also post my comments about Alitalia when I return mid-May.

Is Alitalia still this bad? I know everyone says "only take a carry on," but i'm not sure i can do it and stay within their 11 lb weight limit. I'm just concerned that although my body will go from Chicago to Rome to Florence, my bag may not.

Unfortunately, it's a valid concern. Make sure you take a change of clothes and some toiletries in your carryon bag if you are checking one.

Hi, I recently flew from Rome with 2 connecting flights. The first leg of our trip was operated by Alitalia for KLM. We checked our luggage and it arrived with us at our final destination. Lucky I guess!

that's encouraging mary. i'm hoping that since it's nonstop from chicago to rome and we have to go through customs with our bag, my chances might be good that it will arrive. we leave tomorrow, so we'll see.

Linda

I flew with Alitalia from Sicily to Paris in January 2012 and this is by far the worst experience I've ever had with an airline. First they refused priority check-in for my mother who was exhausted as she was being being treating with cancer (we showed my mother's chemotherapy card to the airline agent who said that my mother had to wait in line "just like everyone else"!!!) Upon our arrival in Paris, 2 pieces of luggage were missing. When we finally got them back days later (after having to follow-up with Alitalia via countless several calls), some of our personal belongings were missing and we also found items (such as a toiletry bad) that did not belong to us! I wrote several e-mails to Alitalia's customer relation team and NEVER heard back from them. They don't seem to care about the fact that their staff is being the rudest with their customers, even those in distress. Nor do they care about the fact that their luggage service is completely unsafe. Be mindful if you ever want to travel with them you may not get your personal belongings back!

One thing I have always liked about the Rick Steves Travelers Helpline is that it has been relatively free of the venom that is common on Trip Advisor forums, where first-time posters come on to vent grievances, provoking others to respond in a similar tone. I hope we can avoid that here, but I am not optimistic when I see old posts resurrected and new ones started with the express intent of airing grievances against whomever. Please, let's not go there.

As Roy says, this rant has resurected a 4 year dead zombie. That's not the place for a rant.

I disagree, anyone googling can find this thread and see that Alitalia has apparently not changed or improved its customer service over the years. This will hopefully serve as a caution for newbies who have perhaps not read the many bad reviews on this airline.

... except that this is an identical, cut-and-paste rant from the thread titled "Alitalia TERRIBLE customer service" from 6/12/12. (with sincere apologies to Monica, the Original Poster)

Sorry to tell you this but most major US carriers have a contract with Alitalia Rome. They do the ticket counter
and gate check in when you travel out of Rome.