apirchik
Jul 30, 09, 4:13 am
On early June my wife and I went to Italy for a 1 week vacation, taking advantage of a special promotion of AZ - tickets for $300 including connections. We booked a ticket TLV-FCO-GOA, MXP-TLV.
2 days into our trip I received a laconic email stating:
Gentile cliente,
Alitalia informa che il volo *AZ0804 del 13JUN09 , da MXP a TLV, con partenza alle ore 1230, è stato cancellato.
Per ulteriori informazioni contatti cortesemente il nostro call center al numero 800 650 055.
Dear customer,
Alitalia informs that the flight *AZ0804 on 13JUN09 , departing from MXP at 1230 to TLV, has been cancelled.
For further information , please contact our call center at +39 800 650 055.
After a couple of phone calls, it turns out that the 800 number as stated in the English message is only for Italian speakers. For English you have to call 06-2222 - and pay for every minute. When finally getting an English speaking agent I was told we were rebooked on a flight from Linate via FCO to TLV, arriving 3 AM the following day (instead of 5PM). We tried to rebook on the morning flights (my wife had scheduled meetings at 8 AM) but with no success. We did change in the end to a flight out of MXP instead of LIN as our car was due to return in MXP and we had a pre-paid reservation at a hotel around MXP.
When asking about what I deserve in compensation, the phone agents did not know or did not want to tell me. On check-in at MXP I went to the ticketing office and was told there that as I was not denied boarding they are not supposed to handle me there. The desk there is a general agent for Alitalia and not the airline itself. When I requested at least some vouchers for meals and drinks (as per "right to care" in EC regulations 261-04) they said that they are not giving those to people who were rebooked on cancelled flights.
On my connection at FCO I went out to the ticketing office and was given just about the same answers there - both to compensation and vouchers.
On arrival in TLV I used the Alitalia complaint form and wrote a detailed letter, stating what I went through and demanded 800 Euros (400 pp for the flight cancellation per EC 261-04) plus 50 Euros for the expenses I deserved to get per EC 261-04 and was refused (meals, drinks, phone calls and the actual phone calls to the non-800 Alitalia English speaking call center). As for an airline that looks like it is still in the stone age, all the correspondence is done by regular mail only - didn't they hear of Email?
2 weeks later I get a surprise letter in the mail stating that Alitalia will pay us the 850 Euros as we requested. They asked me to sign a release form and gave them the bank account and 3 weeks after that the money was transferred.
Alitalia will not be my preferred airline on my next trip out of Israel. The flights to and from Israel are just about at a service level of the charter flights to Turkey - comfort, food, etc. Their service level at the airports is a disgrace. However, thanks to the great customer support experience (I would not say efficient but still great) I will consider it the next time I see a bargain price.
2 days into our trip I received a laconic email stating:
Gentile cliente,
Alitalia informa che il volo *AZ0804 del 13JUN09 , da MXP a TLV, con partenza alle ore 1230, è stato cancellato.
Per ulteriori informazioni contatti cortesemente il nostro call center al numero 800 650 055.
Dear customer,
Alitalia informs that the flight *AZ0804 on 13JUN09 , departing from MXP at 1230 to TLV, has been cancelled.
For further information , please contact our call center at +39 800 650 055.
After a couple of phone calls, it turns out that the 800 number as stated in the English message is only for Italian speakers. For English you have to call 06-2222 - and pay for every minute. When finally getting an English speaking agent I was told we were rebooked on a flight from Linate via FCO to TLV, arriving 3 AM the following day (instead of 5PM). We tried to rebook on the morning flights (my wife had scheduled meetings at 8 AM) but with no success. We did change in the end to a flight out of MXP instead of LIN as our car was due to return in MXP and we had a pre-paid reservation at a hotel around MXP.
When asking about what I deserve in compensation, the phone agents did not know or did not want to tell me. On check-in at MXP I went to the ticketing office and was told there that as I was not denied boarding they are not supposed to handle me there. The desk there is a general agent for Alitalia and not the airline itself. When I requested at least some vouchers for meals and drinks (as per "right to care" in EC regulations 261-04) they said that they are not giving those to people who were rebooked on cancelled flights.
On my connection at FCO I went out to the ticketing office and was given just about the same answers there - both to compensation and vouchers.
On arrival in TLV I used the Alitalia complaint form and wrote a detailed letter, stating what I went through and demanded 800 Euros (400 pp for the flight cancellation per EC 261-04) plus 50 Euros for the expenses I deserved to get per EC 261-04 and was refused (meals, drinks, phone calls and the actual phone calls to the non-800 Alitalia English speaking call center). As for an airline that looks like it is still in the stone age, all the correspondence is done by regular mail only - didn't they hear of Email?
2 weeks later I get a surprise letter in the mail stating that Alitalia will pay us the 850 Euros as we requested. They asked me to sign a release form and gave them the bank account and 3 weeks after that the money was transferred.
Alitalia will not be my preferred airline on my next trip out of Israel. The flights to and from Israel are just about at a service level of the charter flights to Turkey - comfort, food, etc. Their service level at the airports is a disgrace. However, thanks to the great customer support experience (I would not say efficient but still great) I will consider it the next time I see a bargain price.