Alitalia MilleMiglia - Connections to FCO via MXP not bookable?

I've booked MRS-MXP, MXP-FCO-TRS on two tickets, very inexpensively. The first segment is on AF (though an AZ code-share was available) and the following trip is AZ.

The connection at MXP is 85 minutes, should be not much risk due to Schengen and both flights are T1A, although I'll have bags. The FCO xfer is 45 minutes, with AZ taking the risk.

Funny thing is I could no-how get those two trips onto one ticket. I couldn't get ITA to admit to them even as multi-city with specific flight numbers, nor would skyscanner flush them out, nor would any of my usual booking sites. EF does list the combo, at least if I show MXP as a connection.

Similarly, I find bargain FCO-TLS if booked as two tix, again meeting an AF flight out of MXP (also code-shared by AZ) but that trip is invisible to the CRS.

What gives? It feels like I'm breaking some rule.

(Someone will helpfully tell me of cheaper non-stops between my end points. Yup, but they don't meet my schedule, and are not the point of my question. Thanks, though.)

If I understand you correctly, you want to fly MRS-MXP-FCO-TRS, but are having problems purchasing this as a single ticket.

At first, I thought the routing rules might not allow this, but it seems that they allow both MRS-MIL-ROM-TRS and MRS-ROM-MIL-TRS, so this should not be the problem.

Have you tried booking on www.alitalia.com ? And are you trying to book a one-way or return?

Trying a random date in September, on www.alitalia.com I can easily get MRS-MXP-FCO-TRS as part of a return ticket (although not with quite the same transfer times as you mention). However, for some reason I can't get that routing as a one-way - it will only offer MRS-LYS-FCO-TRS, MRS-CDG-FCO-TRS, or even MRS-FCO-MXP-TRS (each at a fairly hefty price!)

I suspect this is something to do with how the MRS-MXP segment (which is an AZ codeshare operated by AF) links with the rest of the itinerary - but I am not entirely sure what the problem is, nor if/how it can be avoided.

In case you do want to book on www.alitalia.com, note that they have a 15% discount offer this weekend: Another Alitalia 15% sale coming up today (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alitalia-millemiglia/1368462-another-alitalia-15-sale-coming-up-today.html)

KQ321: Thanks for the additional insight. As noted, I did already book/ticket so my question was more-or-less academic, although I wanted to know if there was a painful surprise awaiting me when I checked in for my flight(s).

My booking is indeed one-way, so I never asked about rt travel. 8/24, specifically. I indeed included alitalia.com in my attempts, and observed the same thing you mentioned - they only offered to fly me from MRS to TRS for around USD700 or so, and not a particularly good schedule. Expedia was happy to do the deed for about $260 a/i, leaving MRS at 1650 and proceeding fairly expeditiously to TRS. On Alitalia, if I'd asked for the code-share.

The mind-blowing thing for me is that the CRS doesn't find the route even when I tell the interface e.g. ITA the specific flights. Ditto a similar flight in the reverse direction.

Kinda the opposite of the 'hidden city' exploit. I would never have expected such a thing, although since rules often specify 'end-on-end allowed' this must be a case when it's not. Heads-up to the thrifty bargain-seekers.

Kinda the opposite of the 'hidden city' exploit. I would never have expected such a thing, although since rules often specify 'end-on-end allowed' this must be a case when it's not. Heads-up to the thrifty bargain-seekers.

OK...

It seems that AZ has some extremely cheap OW fares MRS-MIL, and MIL-TRS (the latter allowing routing via ROM). However, these fares are indeed "END-ON-END NOT PERMITTED", so you can't book them together.

Meanwhile, AZ's OW fares for MRS-TRS start at a hefty $700 or so...

So, this explains why you got a much better deal by booking two tickets (and carrying the risk of a misconnect in MXP yourself). However, it still doesn't explain why the websites won't sell MRS-MXP-FCO-TRS as a one-way on a single ticket - because as far as I can tell, this should still be possible, albeit at a high price...

The connection at MXP is 85 minutes, should be not much risk due to Schengen and both flights are T1A, although I'll have bags. The FCO xfer is 45 minutes, with AZ taking the risk.


Assuming you are on the 6.55am flight from MRS this should indeed be fine. If you are on the 16.50 one, on the other hand, that would be far more dubious as some of the later bases Province flights have a very poor on time record (intense rotations with shortened airport time beforehand) and delays of over 1 hour are not rare (for instance that particular flight was 50 minutes late today, to which you need to add bus disembarcation as it is operated by an AT7, which means that connection would have most likely been missed). So if it were me, if it is with the 6.55 departure I would go for it, if it is the 16.50 I certainly wouldn't take the risk

...snip...if it is the 16.50 I certainly wouldn't take the risk Umm, hope we don't have that kind of luck. Your logic sounds reasonable and the one-day observation is certainly a data point, but the EF on-time stats didn't sound particularly bad.

Besides getting our selves from plane to check-in counter, we'll almost surely have a bag to retrieve and no doubt a firm deadline for checking it. Hope it's less than 60 minutes. I doubt that the first carrier (Air Corsica pretending to be AF) will be interested in checking the bag through, but that would be a help.

I'm not at all keen on scheduling an 11-hour cnx, nor showing up at an airport at 5 AM, and I don't recall anything in between that makes sense, so we'll just have to deal with it. But I appreciate the heads-up.

Besides getting our selves from plane to check-in counter, we'll almost surely have a bag to retrieve and no doubt a firm deadline for checking it. Hope it's less than 60 minutes. I doubt that the first carrier (Air Corsica pretending to be AF) will be interested in checking the bag through, but that would be a help.


It should be no problem at all to check bags through (and you'll be dealing with AF. The aircraft is XK indeed but it is a franchise and all ground ops will be AF). My experience, however, is that it is unlikely that the AF people will be able to edit your AZ boarding card so you'll depend on the lottery of AZ's "I work when I want to" OLCI.

The flight is fairly recent so indeed there are relatively few observation points but so far about 10% show severe delays, the rest are fine. It could change (either for the better or for the worse) as some of MRS flights are reshuffled, and it also depends on when your flight is (summer is better as severe fog-related delays are not unusual at MXP in the Autumn and winter, and ATRs are particularly fragile in this respect).

It should be no problem at all to check bags through ... and ATRs are particularly fragile in this respect).
Thanks once more the very useful information. Not having bags to transfer would be a treat.

Our flight is 24 Aug, and the consequence of missing the cnx is RON Milan and paying AZ for a couple of seats at the going rate on the next available flight. It looks like only the cheapest fare (W) has any kind of apex rule so it shouldn't be too painful. Depends on load, of course and seat maps aren't as useful as they used to be.

Of course if I'd been endowed with more than half a brain I'd have noticed the AF MRS-VCE service and realized that VCE-TRS is 90 minutes by road. Still may do that.

Of course if I'd been endowed with more than half a brain I'd have noticed the AF MRS-VCE service and realized that VCE-TRS is 90 minutes by road. Still may do that.

Indeed. It is one of the base province flight ex-MRS so not sure on your date (it doesn't fly every day) but it is routinely available for about €50 one way. I would assume it is most likely that it will be very easy to connect to Trieste from VCE either directly from the airport or via one of the two stations (Venezia or Mestre).