Comments on: Alitalia’s LAX Reception

By: CF

CF — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:12:28 +0000

Bill – Well, my guess is that the government will find a way to keep the airline flying. I´m still out of the country on vacation, so I haven´t seen many updates, but I believe they´re trying to get the right to loan Alitalia money. No matter what, I would be very surprised to see them disappear by June.

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:06:51 +0000

My daughter and friends will be using Alitalia in June,should I be worried about no airline being their when it’s time to leave?

By: Christopher

Christopher — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:14:17 +0000

Having been forced to fly Alitalia several times (about 20 Transatlantic round trips and several domestic flights within Italy) in the last three years, I have never had a truly bad experience. The service is not great but is certainly superior to anything in the domestic US.

By: David

David — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:28:49 +0000

Alitalia and Berlusconi may have a bit of a problem:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7359866.stm

This may of course be code for changing the value of the bid.

As to Aeroflot…

http://www.avionews.com/index.php?corpo=see_news_home.php&news_id=1088637&pagina_chiamante=index.php

By: ks

ks — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:46:16 +0000

…As for the next worst airline ever, I don’t think that Olympic Airlines will be a contender for the title: By the time Berlusconi makes up his mind about whether he wants to go italian or settle for a foreign buyer, the Greeks will have placed Olympic Airlines under the wings of another airline (maybe AF-KLM?), if not of an investor with the vision to give Olympic a future similar of its prestigious Onassis past. (The Greek government is publicly aiming for a settlement with the EU and an international competition for the company by the end of the year)

By: ks

ks — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:31:01 +0000

My experience with Alitalia is that service is certainly not the best, but definately not as bad as its business model would suggest.

Notwithstanding the patriotism or professionalism shown by many people working for national air-carriers, fact is that privatisation is the safest road to a healthy existence – state interference has drugged them down long enough.

As for PSOs, they still exist because they provide a social service to remote areas, serving strictly non-commercial routes. They should not be confused with the now ceased practice of illegal (according to EU law) state subsidies.

By: Daren

Daren — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:28:34 +0000

I can certainly concur that Alitalia is definitely high up on the list of worst airlines, service is terrible. My feelings on airlines like Alitalia and Olympic is that the sooner the EU market becomes fully open and devoid of government interference the better. Nationalistic sentiments are always best left out of business in my opinion. Sure it is always a sad day for a nation when a flag-carrier goes under, but in the interest of the consumer the best outcome would be for Alitalia to be swallowed up by AF/KL or wound down and allow other carriers to enter the market with a better offering. It would be a milestone in European aviation if the latter was allowed to happen. Instead, it will be a fudge option with Berlusconi saving face as CF predicts.

By: CF

CF — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:45:57 +0000

Zach – I’ve never flown them myself, but I’m heard uniformly poor reviews from friends who have. So, my designation is solely from a business/financial situation.

By: Zach

Zach — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:23:29 +0000

Question–

I always enjoy your analysis of the slow-motion train wreck that is the state of Alitalia’s business affairs, but I’ve never heard much about their actual service. Is it as hideous as their business model, or is the “worst airline ever” distinction based on the business/financial situation alone?

By: CF

CF — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:30:22 +0000

Artie – Well, I got invited by the LA airports people, not Alitalia.