Alitalia to Athens

[nutensteve]

We are taking a Meditteranean cruise in September and just booked our air travel with Alitalia. We travel from Los Angeles to Rome then change planes for the trip to Athens (3 hour layover) The return trip is non stop from Rome to Los Angeles ( We disembark the ship in Rome) Has anyone had any experience with Alitalia ? I was ok with everything until I started reading a lot of less than favourable reviews. The aircraft for the long haul portions is a 777-200. We booked Premium Economy seats.

Thanks for any input.

[6rugrats]

You already booked, and I assume you have nonrefundable tickets, so what can you do?

 

If you booked Classica Plus you have more legroom and earn more miles. I would probably stop reading reviews, remembering that people are more likely to post negative experiences than positive. No 13+ hour flight in economy is particularly great.

[nutensteve]

Yes I have already booked my flights. I was just curious if anyone had traveled with Alitalia in the past. I wanted to travel business class but price was a little steep.

[headhunterke]

I would take Alitalia as long as there's no layover involved. So A-B would be ok with me. But A-B-C, I'd look into other options within the same price range. Our company handles Alitalia, and let me tell you, it's the company with one of the most lost bags involving transit flights. Also, Rome is a complete mess at times, assuming it's Rome Fiumicino (FCO). Nothing like you've seen in your life before. But then, when it's calm, the airport is ok.

[Fattony]

I would take Alitalia as long as there's no layover involved. So A-B would be ok with me. But A-B-C, I'd look into other options within the same price range. Our company handles Alitalia, and let me tell you, it's the company with one of the most lost bags involving transit flights. Also, Rome is a complete mess at times, assuming it's Rome Fiumicino (FCO). Nothing like you've seen in your life before. But then, when it's calm, the airport is ok.

 

Note that OP has booked their flights. They're not shopping around. Looking at "other options" doesn't seem realistic at this point. I do agree that the time to ask such questions is before one books, not after, but people often post here to be reassured. As first poster pointed out, it's a moot point now unless OP wants to pay to upgrade.

[marco]

I've taken Alitalia several times. Always JFK/Milan. Last time was just over a year ago and came home on Celebrity "Silhoette" from Rome. Personally.....I don't find them any better or any worse than any other carrier. Last time I flew with them, a cocktail and wine were still complimentary (most US and some other airlines transAtlantic are not). Their 777/200 layout is pretty much the same as other carriers, and when I asked for a snack or beverage.....no problem. Someone might have a bad experience on any carrier, thus: "Don't ever fly XXXXXXX, it's awful!". Maybe I'm too easy to please, but anytime I fly and get from point A to point B safely and on-time, it was a FINE flight. And when it comes to delays, more often than not it's because of an issue at the airPORT, not the airLINE, which affects all carriers on a given day. What ship/line/ports? I'll bet more folks would have comments regarding that then the airline you're going over on.

[headhunterke]

Fattony, I agree, but those were also my personal experiences. Maybe I should have indeed stated them in a differen way.

Marco, as mentioned, they are indeed a decent carrier for A-B flights (from one point to another). I agree with you that 'I'll never fly an airline again' is a reaction by people who don't know what they are talking about (except when you have several major issues with them)

Alitalia (for Brussels from where they have a fair amount of daily flights) does pretty fine imo with ontime performances. I can't talk for other airports, but in Brussels, they rarely have delays. But then again, literally 1001 things can affect on time performance, you only need to fly on a day with a lot of bad luck and you'll be delayed.

[Keith1010]

If you asked before you booked I would have said I don't care for them.

 

Keith

[UKBayern]

My parents flew with Alitalia Amsterdam-Milan MXP-Amsterdam for our last cruise. They said the service was lousy, the flight attendants only spoke italian and barely any english AND were very rude, they did not even get a glass of water on board. Of course, the better staff with language skills generally flies longhaul, and of course you will get fed on the transatlantic flights. Do not count on any refreshment on the FCO-ATH leg though.

[Globaliser]

I do agree that the time to ask such questions is before one books, not after, but people often post here to be reassured.

Not so much reassured, but to seek ex post facto validation from others that the decision they made without seeking or obtaining advice was a good one.

 

Unfortunately, sometimes that means that the only validation that one can offer is "grin and bear it" - although we have had some recent instances of people to whom we could say that they could not have done better.

[nutensteve]

I appreciate the comments and agree that the time to ask the question was before booking. I have flown on Delta and Virgin to Europe in the past but the Alitalia flight had the shortest travel times. If the experience is poor then I have only my self to blame. If we arrive safely with all of our luggage then all is well.

[D4]

We flew Alitalia nonstop Chicago to Rome (and back) last year and loved it. Their food in coach is delicious!

 

Be sure to read the baggage allowances on their website. They have a small maximum size and low maximum weight for carryons. They actually weigh them (even when the flight isn't very full.) I was aware of this when I bought our tickets, but had to carefully plan my carryon because I bring a lot of electronics.