alitalia booking changes - 25hours layover in roma
 

Hi

i have one question regarding changes done by airline before flight

i have a flight to GIG this month

waw-fco = (20-03-2020)
fco-gig = (20-03-2020)
gig-fco = (24-03-2020) = az673
fco-waw = (25-03-2020)

i received a notification on March 6th in the afternoon that the az673 flight (24-03-2020) has been cancelled , and i will be rebooked on the same flight but 24h earlier (23-03-2020)

Problem = my fco-waw was not modified , so i will find myself with 25h30 layover in roma instead of 1h30 as planned

I called customer service in the evening and asked agent about various options i had in mind

- reroute from GRU = 200 euros fee (dont even include GIG-GRU)
- book on a later GIG-FCO = first flight available is on 27-03-2020
- reroute through EZE with AR = not bookable
- book on another skyteam airline (AF or KL) = not possible
- rebook on the FCO-WAW on 24-03-2020 = negative answer (don't remember what was the reason)
- accomodation in FCO = not offered , but agent suggested to contact the claim team to see if i can book by myself and get my money back

I understand that airline can modify journey without pax's agreement if not less than 14 days from departure , so in my case i guess i am out of luck

Also they didnt modified the arrival time of my inbound/outbound journey , so i guess i can't ask compensation for delays

What are my options in this case ?

Cause i get that issues like this are part of business , but to be left alone without any help is kind of a joke . I loose one day in brasil and will need to stay in italy , which is not good idea due to coronavirus (i have other flights planned later and don't want to be banned due to a stay in roma)

the ticket is a non-refundable promo fare , bought with a credit card (not a debit card) . As a last step i wanted to contact my card issuer and try to contest the payment , or see if i can use the insurance provided with the card . You think i can use these tricks ? i think coronavirus can "help me" to get something but i am not 110% sure

also i am on the way to get an travel insurance , which covers travel cancellation (i usually do it few days before going on travel)

Can i use this leverage , knowing that the flight modification was done before i purchase the insurance ??

Do you still want to go to Brazil? If not, you can cancel the trip and get a full refund. If you still want to go, you may also want to check current prices to see whether you can get it at same price or cheaper by booking with someone else now (if which case, cancel and rebook separately).

The problem with flying back to WAW on the 24th is that AZ have no flight to WAW on that day, so you end up with a mismatch between GIG-FCO cancellations and FCO-WAW cancellations, leading to a forced longer stay in FCO. You should be able to claim back the cost of your hotel in FCO under Reg 261/2004, though, if AZ are not themselves willing to arrange the hotel.

Forget about travel insurance if you had not already purchased it: quite understandably, they won't cover anything that is known prior to purchasing the insurance and attempting to claim in such a situation is likely to be constitutive of fraud.

i want to go but not under these new conditions

as i mentionned this is a promo non-refundable fare .

is there any waiver for free cancellations with alitalia in my case ?? if yes please give me details , cause from what i saw on the website iam not concerned by it

Under EU Regulation 261/2004, you always have a right to full reimbursement in case of flight cancellation if you do not want to fly. Since Regulation 261/2004 clearly applies here (cancellation of a flight to the EU by an EU airline), you can get a full refund for the part of the ticket not yet flown (so the whole ticket in your case) if you decide no longer to fly.

Ok , but two things to keep in mind

1. my journey/trip was not cancelled (just one leg was cancelled and i was moved to an earlier flight)
2. the change was done before the 14 days period

i will go to AZ ticket/sales office and ask about cancellation

if not possible to cancel how can i make them apply the law ?

That does not matter. In any event, it is extremely rare for all flights in an itinerary to be cancelled. It will usually be a single flight. What the legislation (i.e. Art 8 of Reg 261/2004) says is that you are entitled to "reimbursement, within seven days , of the full cost of the ticket
at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made"
The fact that the cancellation was advised more than 14 days ahead means that you are not entitled to the right to compensation under Article 7 of the Regulation. However, this makes no difference to your entitlement to reimbursement or rerouting under Article 8 of the Regulation. Note, in passing, that the choice between reimbursement and rerouting is yours, not theirs. So, they cannot force a reroute on you if you would rather have your ticket reimbursed instead.

You will have to cross that bridge when you come to it but I do not expect this to be an issue and I think that this is a bridge you will never have to rech. If you are clear that you want a full refund of your ticket following the cancellation of your flight, I expect that they will go ahead with it without an issue (just do not expect it to happen within seven days, though, even though theoretically they are legally required to refund within that time period; my expectation is that it is likely to take rather longer than that for the money to be back in your account).

Just ring them up and ask to cancel.

It sounds like they didn't bring this up as an option, but neither did you ask for it.

Just ask them outright for a full refund.

(Note: you can't buy travel insurance, after the fact, which you then use to "cancel" your otherwise non-refundable ticket. If insurance could be bought in this manner, then EVERY ticket becomes refundable, and only for just the cost of travel insurance which you purchase purely to claim a larger amount of money back.

And, besides, you don't need to rely on insurance to cancel in these circumstances (material 24 hr change to your flights)

Both , cause in my case i still want to go , but not under such conditions . While i don't mind re rerouting or couple of hours less/more in brasil , thats a complete different situation now

yes i will thanks all for advices , i will do as mentionned and meanwhile follow the situation , due to coronavirus things might change to my advantage

Iam aware of EU EC261 but not in this specific case, which can be tricky , and this is why i asked here first.

question = trying to get the refund iam entitlied to receive i cant reach anyone from alitalia that can help

been told to call the number for the country where i purchased the ticket , however does not work due to high volume of calls

went to the AZ sales office in poland and they suggested to call this exact same number , now the office is probably closed due to restrictions by government

what will happen in case i am not able to reach them before the start of my flight ?? cause then iam sure they will give me the "no-show" joke

can i call my credit card issuer and ask them to claim back the money from airline before flight so someone from AZ will need to take action ??

Try the USA call center - free for google voice and skype and you might get better hold times
+1.800.223.5730

won't work , i will be redirected to the line dedicated for the country of purchase

Last update = as the country of departure has cancelled all internal flights , therefore my trip is automatically cancelled

I received an email with these informations below. Hope it can help someone else
.

• If you wish to change your travel date submit your request to [email protected] along with a copy of your ticket and an indication of your new preferred travel dates.
• If you prefer a refund with a voucher of equal value valid for one year on any Alitalia flight submit your request to [email protected] , along with copy of your electronic ticket;
• If you prefer a refund of the price of the ticket, or of the remaining value of the unused part of the trip, submit your request to [email protected] along with a copy of your electronic ticket

The email addresses are very useful, because the page on the website just invites people to call the Call Centre. I was on hold (to the CFP line too....if they're still operating that separately) for FOUR HOURS the other night (10pm to 2am) before I gave up. I see that refunds/rebookings are possible up until 31 May, even after the date of the flight date, but rather than wait for a few weeks I think I will email them now....

Submit the request for a refund to the proper email, keep a copy of it (and the attached e-ticket). You are due a refund within seven days. If it does not come, initiate a chargeback request through your card issuer (bank), providing copies of the email and attachment. Chasing these things is frustrating in the best of times and these are not the best of times.