Far Siren

I've recently flown Alitalia to Europe and back in Y. Outbound was on DL metal, and the service was fine, your typical DL transatlantic coach service. Coming back, the plane was an AZ B747-200. I sincerely think that this was a flight from hell! The nightmare began during what remotely resembled boarding, when 400 people, without any guidance from the gate agents all flocked towards the gate, and the entire boarding took more than 1.5 hrs. The plane was literally falling apart, it must have been one of the first jumbo jets to roll out of the Boeing factory. The upholstery of the seats was from the 1960s with its crimson and mustard/yellow colors. There were brown (coffee??) stains all over the overhead compartment. The service was so bad that even Wendy's or Burger King would surpass it. The food was not very special at all, and they did not offer any mid-flight snacks or anything. Although Delta does not serve mid-flight snacks in Y, there is always a basket full of packaged cheese and crackers in the aft galley thruout the flight. But here's the best part: Alitalia ran out of ice in the middle of the Atlantic! How embarrassing is that? They literally had no more ice on board so I was forced to drink warm coke (yuck!).

I would write about the specifics of this terrifying incident but this really isn't a trip report. What do you guys think? Was this an isolated incident, or does AZ really suck? How about their Magnifica Class? I'm sure it doesn't compare to Delta's BE, but is it at least decent? Because from what I could see thru the curtain, the Magnifica class didn't look heavenly either.

Burning question: What was Delta and the other SkyTeam members thinking when they signed on AZ?

ConcordeBoy

Not only does AZ have Magnifica (which isnt all that, but still better than Y) but they're also mulling a true First Class.

The 742s and MD11s are to eventually be replaced by 777s and even some A330s, although most will go to EuroFly. AZ is the result of government pampering for decades and decades... which in turn has shielded them from the growing experiences of the [theoretical] free-market airlines. But they can no longer get away with this. Give them time, I believe we'll someday see a truly world-class airline in AZ someday.

------------------
Faire du ciel le plus bel endroit de la terre c'est impossible sans Concorde!
~ConcordeBoy