Alitalia

We flew Toronto - Rome - Toronto. Sept 2014. Going was okay. Returning was a degrading flight. The plane was a throwback to the '80s and the crew were about as friendly as garden snails. I will not fly that draconian airline again. Given the questions listed below I assume because we chose economy class it is likely our views won't matter. However do not allude to thinking our experience will not seep into the general public who are smarter travellers and shop not only for prices.

FCO-PRG on an A320. The check in staff were surly. The plane departed approximately 20 mins late but through no fault of Alitalia. The cabin cleanliness was appalling. The plane smelt dank in the bathroom. The service was variable with pretty poor cabin presence. There was no IFE and the seat was uncomfortable. The food (a packet of biscuits) was ok but the use of powdered milk with coffee was a big no no. There aren't really any advantages to flying Alitalia over a low cost airline- I wouldn't recommend it.

7th Jan AZ 809. Return 10th Jan AZ 812. TLV-FCO-TLV in economy I was dreading this flight after reading the reviews and having faint memories of my Alitalia flights over 10 years ago. The price was very reasonable and not much more than easyjet so I went with Alitalia. The plane out was an old A320 but refurbished so looked ok and was in a decent condition. I was very impressed with the seat pitch and comfort it was great better than most economy I've tried on other airlines. The food is very basic and their is no flight entertainment but anyway it a short 3 hour flight. Same experience on the way back and i was very satisfied with the overall experience. Both flight on time and luggage was very quickly delivered. The crew were polite and friendly and id what they needed to do. I would definitely use them again especially if the prices remain competitive.

We were re-booked on an Alitalia flight ex AUH to Rome on 04/01 due to the 'fog chaos' at AUH on 03/01 and the subsequent missing of our original booked Etihad flight AUH-BRU. The Alitalia business class on their A330 is quite similar to Etihad's. The plane was clean IFE system decent. The biggest disappointment however was the crew and their (non) service. The welcome drink which other airlines offer business class passengers when they are installed at their seat was offered when the plane was pushed off the gate more than 1 hour after boarding (we had to wait for transit passengers from late incoming flights). Breakfast was offered 2 hours after departure without having seen any flight attendant whatsoever between take off and breakfast being served. Once the breakfast trays were collected the crew disappeared again and we just saw now and then stewardesses passing through the cabin as if they thought they were movie stars totally ignoring passengers. Even when the captain announced the descend till the landing itself the crew preferred not to appear did not bother to check if seat belts were fastened tray tables stowed away and seats were in upright position. Most window screens were even still closed when we landed which I believe is against regulations. I don't think I ever experienced a crew which had so few interest in its passengers. It was clear that we were regarded as an annoyance and just disturbed their chit chat sessions. No wonder this airline has been on the edge of bankruptcy several times and I'm surprised that their parent company being Etihad accepts this kind of attitude from their personnel.

CAI-FCO-MLA - both legs departed on time and arrived early. Tickets were a bargain compared to other airlines especially since it's a busy season. The biggest disappointment was the aircraft itself. Both legs were A319 with the hardest seats I have experienced. The pillows provided were wafer thin. On the CAI-FCO leg there was no IFE at all despite it being a 3-hour flight and there were screens installed in the seats. Not even a map or a shared movie. Service was ok and food was pretty basic.

Saga began when I tried to book a seat several weeks prior to boarding. I went to the website and tried to follow the instructions but was unable to reserve a seat. Despite several attempts to do this over the next few days it would not work so I decided to go to the airport extra early (5 hours in advance of my flight). There were no aisle seats left despite me being so early so I decided to go ahead and book a “comfort” seat for which I was charged an additional 85 euros. Onboard I get to my “comfort” seat which is the aisle seat at the front right beside the washrooms. The aisle where everyone crosses in front of you. The man sitting beside me had also paid extra. His seat was ripped and the stuffing was coming out. He moved to the next seat over. Meanwhile people who had not paid the extra asked if they could sit in the other comfort seats (including the two by the window on each side which were much nicer and also vacant) and told that they could. We paid they did not they got better seats than we did. As we were taking off the air hostess told me to put my seat to the upright position I was surprised because I had not put it back. A few minutes later she told me the same thing. That’s when I realized the back of my seat was broken. The man behind me was unhappy with this and spent the entire flight pushing on my back in an effort to keep my seat more upright. It would stay for a while and then a passenger would walk past and push on the back of my seat for stability and back it would go. The man would push me forward someone else would push me back - this went on for 9 hours. One of the bathrooms went out of order (the bathrooms beside my seat). The staff did not put an out of order sign on the door. They knew it was out of order because I told them. People kept lining up. I would tell them it was out of order. They would walk to the other bathroom on the aisle in front of me. I would pull my feet up to let them pass - one more strike against my “comfort” seat. The man next to me was trying to work - every time someone walked past they hit his computer. He was very tall and got tripped over and bumped through the entire flight. The other bathroom at the front of the plane was put out of order. They ran out of toilet paper. I chose to avoid drinking for 9 hours so I could avoid the bathrooms. The plane was so old and decrepit. I fly several times a year for both business and pleasure. This was easily the worse flight I have ever been on.

We flew in business class from JFK to FCO on 12/17/2014 and back on Delta on 12/27/14. The AZ airplane was a new Airbus 330 clean and well maintained. The boarding went smooth. The flight left on time and actually arrived to destination earlier. We were impressed by the on-board service. Staff were very professional and friendly. The food was excellent. The seats were very comfortable and the inflight entertainment was very good. Definitely the Alitalia flight was way superior to the Delta' which utilized an old B 767 with seats not quite comfortable and mediocre entertainment. This is not the Alitalia that I remember from 15 years ago. I will fly AZ again.

LHR-FCO on AZ201 and FCO-LHR on AZ208. There are no AZ staff at LHR T4 it is outsourced to a different company. Checking in with the machines was not easy - the touch screens are unresponsive and take too much time. Boarding pass is printed on a pathetic paper. As we had bags to drop off we had to queue in the bag drop off line which was huge. Only 2 people were serving the counter for the flight. Cabin crew don't care about actually providing service. As we walked onto the plane they were simply talking amongst themselves. LHR-FCO was uneventful but then again I did sleep the entire time. Old A320. No IFE. Poor interior. Had to wait ages in the bus at FCO to be taken to the terminal. FCO-LHR delayed 20 mins no reason given. Again flight uneventful. No IFE.

Athens to Rome and Rome to Amsterdam. Nightmare. 1 Hour delay from Athens landed at Naples instead of Rome. Arrived at Rome 3 hours late waiting plus one hour in the aircraft for the stairs. Next flight the next day also delayed 2 hours to depart Nobody willing to inform us about what was going on no food at all. Rude crew.

Cabin crew stood chatting and ignored passengers as they boarded. After snack was served the cabin crew disappeared. Crew never smiled or talked nicely to passengers once throughout the flight. Crew looked unkempt and not smartly dressed. Very unprofessional crew on the 4 flights I used. Terrible service. Announcements were inaudible and cut off mid sentence and pilot announcements could not be understood at all.