[plinko]

Not sure whether to put this here or in the Skybar.

Alitalia Airlines is returning to LAX as of today (June 1) with service to Rome (FCO). My girlfriend and I have been working on planning a trip to Italy in November and they seem to have pretty decent deals for the routes we wish to fly.

I've heard that the airline is both quite poor in terms of service and that they are severely financially strapped.

Question:
Has anyone flown them recently?
Do you guys think that they will still be around in November? (I'd hate to buy tix and then have them go belly-up).

The LAX-FCO service will be a 777-200 so I'm kind of excited about that.

Any info you guys can share would be appreciated. :cheers:

[WonderlandPark]

I heard that they got a loan from the Italian government good to keep them in business for another year. But they are trying hard to sell the airline to someone. I imagine that anyone buying them would continue to honor the tickets. they won't be liquidated, as far as I heard, meaning your ticket should be o.k. I saw those fares, too.

[Gordo]

I think you can be assured that the government of Italy won't allow Alitalia to just go "belly up". They may be looking for someone to buy the airline (Air France/KLM was close), but they will support it until that buyer appears.

[austlar1]

I think you can be assured that the government of Italy won't allow Alitalia to just go "belly up". They may be looking for someone to buy the airline (Air France/KLM was close), but they will support it until that buyer appears.

The Italian govt. is under a lot of pressure, especially from the trade unions,to come up with an Italian solution to the Alitalia problem. That is why the AF/KLM proposal got sidetracked. One way or another, Alitalia or it's successor, will be around and would be foolish not to honor tickets.

Other than that, Alitalia sucks from what I hear. If you are going to be flying in the back of the plane, it is likely to be a looong and uncomfortable flight. Business class, on the other hand, is likely to be as nice as anything the US carriers will offer with connecting flights.

Will they still offer the flight to Rome in the fall? Alitalia has flown out of LA in the past, usually for just part of the year.

[BTinSF]

Italy May Nationalize Alitalia If EU Attempts to Block Loan
By LUCA DI LEO
April 30, 2008

ROME -- Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's incoming premier, threatened to nationalize Alitalia SpA if the European Union tries to block an emergency government loan aimed at preventing bankruptcy protection for the airline.

Mr. Berlusconi said the plan was still for private Italian investors to buy Alitalia, in which the government currently holds a 49.9% stake. He warned that "if the [EU] starts being a pain in the neck, we could take a decision whereby Alitalia could be bought by the state, or the state railway."

The EU last week warned that a €300 million ($469.2 million) bridge loan the Italian government approved for Alitalia may be violating competition rules on state aid.

The European Commission wants to determine whether Alitalia, which had €170 million in cash and short-term credit at the end of March, would have been able to obtain the money from a commercial lender.

The EU said Tuesday the point wasn't whether Italy had decided to nationalize the airline, but whether the loan was given on commercial terms -- meaning whether a private investor would have lent the money to Alitalia given the circumstances.

Alitalia rivals, such as Irish budget airline Ryanair Holdings PLC, have urged the EU to rule the Italian government loan is illegal.

Under state aid rules, any government must ask for the commission's approval when it is planning to financially aid one of its companies. Italy is banned from offering state aid to Alitalia until 2011 because of past bailouts.

Italy has pumped more than €5 billion into Alitalia via capital hikes. The injections of public money have kept the airline flying, but have sapped the will of management and labor unions to attempt the overhaul that Alitalia needs to remain competitive.

Hoping to rid the carrier of political interference, the outgoing government of Premier Romano Prodi has been unsuccessfully trying to privatize Alitalia for more than a year.

--Alessandro Torello in Brussels and Guglielmo Valia in Rome contributed to this article.

Write to Luca Di Leo at luca.dileo@dowjones.com1
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120950205448153913.html

And the latest:

Alitalia's Loss Narrows; Special Loan to Arrive
May 28, 2008; Page B3
Cash-strapped airline Alitalia SpA said late Tuesday it posted a net loss of €495 million ($780.7 million) in 2007, an improvement of €132 million from the previous year. In February, the airline reported a 2007 pretax loss of €364 million. In a filing, the company reiterated that its 2007 earnings were adversely affected by the increase in fuel prices, strikes and fierce competition from low-cost carriers, among other things. The airline has been flying close to financial collapse after a planned sale to Air France-KLM SA fell through. A government decree converting a €300 million emergency loan to Alitalia into an asset on the carrier's books will come into effect this week, the economy minister said Tuesday.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121194544336325335.html

So it looks as if the Italian government is determined to rescue them for now. But in 6 months? Hard to say (hard to say even if Berlusconi's government will still be in power).

[Crawford]

Don't take Alitalia! They are crap! Even worse than the American options.

Dirty, bad food and they misplace luggage.

Unless the fare is incredibly low, or the only alternative is Air Bangladesh, I would not take them.

[initiald]

The Cranky Flier (http://crankyflier.com/2008/04/18/alitalias-lax-reception/) says they are the worst airline ever, but I doubt it can be that bad. At least it isn't that likely that they will suddenly go out of business on you like Skybus.

[plinko]

Don't take Alitalia! They are crap! Even worse than the American options.

Dirty, bad food and they misplace luggage.

Unless the fare is incredibly low, or the only alternative is Air Bangladesh, I would not take them.

Is this from personal experience or just stuff you've heard? I've had similar experiences on plenty of carriers over the years. I've also had great experiences on carriers that are supposed to be 'awful'.

[Crawford]

^
Both.

I had a bad experience (nasty food, really dirty bathrooms) and my boss recently took them from NYC-Venice and they lost his luggage.

[Avalanche]

Me being someone that worked in the Airline industry for some years. I always gets to me when people complain about lost luggage and food. People fail to realize that almost everwhere in the world baggage is handled by a handling company when it come to international carriers. The food is not prepared by the airline itself, it is prepared by a catering company. Also, put into consideration that regardless of how bad the food was or that your bag was misplaced. These carriers offer services that "American" carriers dont. The only thing that a passenger pays for is transportation. The in-flight entertainment system, food, free luggage you take is all complimentary. They only need to take you from point A to point B. They choose to do this because they want to make your flight a pleasant one. I just love the way American Airlines treats me when I fly. I love the free baggage, and food. Oh and their in-flight system is the best i have seen!!!!