Alitalia - One and Done
Mar 27, 2013, 4:54 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: PRG, NYC, MOW
Programs: Delta DM, AA EXP, SPG PLT75, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 215
Alitalia - One and Done
Well, that was quick. Despite the horror stories, I was kind of excited to fly through Italy on my way to the States(Miami). I've never flown Alitalia outside of a short hop in Europe and wanted to see that the A330Enhanced was all about. FYI, I booked both tickets in Y class on Delta paper.
Outbound
After reading the forum posters, I decided to call AZ directly to make sure that our seats were, in fact, together. The US based agent assured me that they were. However, when it was time to check in 24 hours in advance, my wife had a middle seat in the 2nd to last row. Nice. I got my BP but my wife(non-US citizen) only got to print her receipt(not unusual).
In Prague, the system wasn't able to print BP for my wife for some reason but since I had a 3+ hour connection in Milan, I didn't really mind.
Arriving in MXP, I found the first 3 consecutive transfer desks to be completely abandoned. Finally, I found a lonely straddler - a "busy" agent, who was handling the DL flight to JFK. I came to her and told her that I was flying to Miami on AZ but needed to get a BP for my wife. She told me to go hang out by our gate and wait for those agents to print the BP. I told her that I didn't want to risk my wife getting sent back to 37E, considering that agents only show up to the gate after check-in has closed. She didn't particularly care. She told me that since she had her DL system open, she could not do anything for an AZ flight. So when I told her that the reservation is on DL paper, she just mumbled something in Italian and then insisted that I just wait at the gate. And there I thought that I was hedged on the AZ flight/DL paper.
Given the very poor choice of food establishments in MXP, we went to the lounge. It was alright. No big complaints. No great comments either. Coffee was solid. Internet was good.
I went to the gate at T-60 and got the BP. Luckily, I guess printing the receipt at home does maintain your seat.
We board the plane and the seats (19A, 19C) were OK. Same as the lounge. Comme si comme ca. The VOD choices are a joke but I liked the camera.
The best/worst part of the flight came with dinner. I was offered Pasta and actually got a crepe, which should really be spelled the other way... One-half forkfull was enough to understand that sad story. My wife, on the other hand, actually got the infamous Mystery Meat. It was advertised as Chicken but there is NO chance in hell that was poultry. She passed on the dish just from the sight/smell of it but I definitely made sure to embrace this opportunity. Obviously it wasn't good but its a check-mark. ^
The negative, of course, is that we were staaaaarving for 11 hours(140mph head wind most of the way).
RETURN
The way back was a bit more fun. The guy at AZ Priority check-in was SUPER convinced that there is no way he can forward our luggage all the way to Prague, as we were on two different tickets(AZ and OK). I was in a good mood so I let him fall over himself in confidence at how right he was. Eventually, his supervisor came and swiftly checked the bags through to the final destination. FCO-PRG boarding pass was clearly too difficult for them, so I stopped after the first try. Do these guys go through any training?
The flight from MIA to FCO was slightly more interesting. The food was inedible but we brought stuff on board, so that was fine. I just wish they had beer(ANY brand) to wash down my sandwiches. Unfortunately, there was nothing. Never seen that before.
Obviously same movie choices so I loaded up on iTunes flicks but when I ran out of juice, I thought I'd hang out in the back where the wine was(was being the key word). It was only when I got back there that I noticed that there was a regular passenger sitting in the jump seat. Sure enough, now that I paid attention, every jump seat was taken up by guys who were clearly coming back from WMC. Honestly, I have only seen something similar once, when I took the Libreville to Franceville flight in Gabon, when people were standing in the aisles(ala bus/train passengers) for the entire flight. That was essentially the icing on the cake for me to declare that this is a solid 3rd world airline.
In short, there isn't anything overly negative to say about the experience. Just clearly a worst-case scenario for hopping over the pond when PRG-JFK is suspended. I'll even pay up to fly KLM above these guys, as the service in both AMS and MXP/FCO is a sad(not ha ha, funny) joke. Product wise, KLM is way better and AF blows these two away totally in all categories.
Oh wait, it wouldn't be right not to mention the positive. The pilots on both flights made really great landings. Kudos.
P.S. Does anyone know how the upgrades work for Skyteam partners, if you're a DL DM? Clearly the flight was overbooked but we didn't get the bump up. Does DL DM<AZ/AF/KLM FO?
Outbound
After reading the forum posters, I decided to call AZ directly to make sure that our seats were, in fact, together. The US based agent assured me that they were. However, when it was time to check in 24 hours in advance, my wife had a middle seat in the 2nd to last row. Nice. I got my BP but my wife(non-US citizen) only got to print her receipt(not unusual).
In Prague, the system wasn't able to print BP for my wife for some reason but since I had a 3+ hour connection in Milan, I didn't really mind.
Arriving in MXP, I found the first 3 consecutive transfer desks to be completely abandoned. Finally, I found a lonely straddler - a "busy" agent, who was handling the DL flight to JFK. I came to her and told her that I was flying to Miami on AZ but needed to get a BP for my wife. She told me to go hang out by our gate and wait for those agents to print the BP. I told her that I didn't want to risk my wife getting sent back to 37E, considering that agents only show up to the gate after check-in has closed. She didn't particularly care. She told me that since she had her DL system open, she could not do anything for an AZ flight. So when I told her that the reservation is on DL paper, she just mumbled something in Italian and then insisted that I just wait at the gate. And there I thought that I was hedged on the AZ flight/DL paper.
Given the very poor choice of food establishments in MXP, we went to the lounge. It was alright. No big complaints. No great comments either. Coffee was solid. Internet was good.
I went to the gate at T-60 and got the BP. Luckily, I guess printing the receipt at home does maintain your seat.
We board the plane and the seats (19A, 19C) were OK. Same as the lounge. Comme si comme ca. The VOD choices are a joke but I liked the camera.
The best/worst part of the flight came with dinner. I was offered Pasta and actually got a crepe, which should really be spelled the other way... One-half forkfull was enough to understand that sad story. My wife, on the other hand, actually got the infamous Mystery Meat. It was advertised as Chicken but there is NO chance in hell that was poultry. She passed on the dish just from the sight/smell of it but I definitely made sure to embrace this opportunity. Obviously it wasn't good but its a check-mark. ^
The negative, of course, is that we were staaaaarving for 11 hours(140mph head wind most of the way).
RETURN
The way back was a bit more fun. The guy at AZ Priority check-in was SUPER convinced that there is no way he can forward our luggage all the way to Prague, as we were on two different tickets(AZ and OK). I was in a good mood so I let him fall over himself in confidence at how right he was. Eventually, his supervisor came and swiftly checked the bags through to the final destination. FCO-PRG boarding pass was clearly too difficult for them, so I stopped after the first try. Do these guys go through any training?
The flight from MIA to FCO was slightly more interesting. The food was inedible but we brought stuff on board, so that was fine. I just wish they had beer(ANY brand) to wash down my sandwiches. Unfortunately, there was nothing. Never seen that before.
Obviously same movie choices so I loaded up on iTunes flicks but when I ran out of juice, I thought I'd hang out in the back where the wine was(was being the key word). It was only when I got back there that I noticed that there was a regular passenger sitting in the jump seat. Sure enough, now that I paid attention, every jump seat was taken up by guys who were clearly coming back from WMC. Honestly, I have only seen something similar once, when I took the Libreville to Franceville flight in Gabon, when people were standing in the aisles(ala bus/train passengers) for the entire flight. That was essentially the icing on the cake for me to declare that this is a solid 3rd world airline.
In short, there isn't anything overly negative to say about the experience. Just clearly a worst-case scenario for hopping over the pond when PRG-JFK is suspended. I'll even pay up to fly KLM above these guys, as the service in both AMS and MXP/FCO is a sad(not ha ha, funny) joke. Product wise, KLM is way better and AF blows these two away totally in all categories.
Oh wait, it wouldn't be right not to mention the positive. The pilots on both flights made really great landings. Kudos.
P.S. Does anyone know how the upgrades work for Skyteam partners, if you're a DL DM? Clearly the flight was overbooked but we didn't get the bump up. Does DL DM<AZ/AF/KLM FO?
Mar 27, 2013, 5:31 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO / JFK
Programs: Variety of rectangular cards with my name on it
Posts: 665
I agree with you about the customer service of AZ not being great. In order to know if your flight was actually overbooked, you should've checked EF or KVS or have asked an agent before boarding if they needed volunteers. I believe if overbooking on an AZ flight, MileMiglia elites would've been the first to get an OpUp.
