Originally Posted by
poncherelli
Thanks for the input re: EU Law, it's not an area I'm very familiar with.
My flight was definitely cancelled for operative reasons, a month ahead of time. The issue I still don't fully understand is the accommodation to my final destination on "comparable alternative means."
AZ rebooked me on another flight, on their own metal, which is somewhat inconvenient compared to my original flight, but they could well argue that they provided "comparable alternative means." I would argue they provided alternative means, but not entirely comparable, and I'd much prefer to be rebooked on DL/AF/KL for a shorter trip duration. I'm not so inclined to buy a new ticket, however, and risk not being compensated (not to mention, I imagine I would spend more time & effort fighting with AZ than the couple hour layover they stuck me with).
As an update, I received the following email (3 different times) over the weekend:
"Gentile Cliente,
Alitalia informa che, il Suo volo AZ059 del 04/02/2013 è stato cancellato .
Per eventuali ed ulteriori informazioni o per effettuare una nuova prenotazione,
La preghiamo di contattare il Customer Center Alitalia
Cordiali Saluti.
Alitalia
Dear Customer,Alitalia informs you that your flight AZ059 on 04/02/2013 has been cancelled.
For further details and in order to change your reservation,
please get in contact with the Alitalia Customer Center
Regards
Alitalia"
I tried calling again, was told that cannot offer reprotection on another carrier and that my current itinerary is the only one they can offer me.