Alitalia, Aircraft, & Customs

[Regan]

I’m posting this to both the Princess Forum and to the Cruise Air Forum, because I need all the help and advice I can get!

 

In May, my husband and I will be flying from the USA’s East Coast (Virginia) to Rome for a Princess land-cruise package. I am so confused about which flights to book. We can choose from Alitalia, American, Delta, US Air, and United.

 

A friend says we should fly Alitalia because that line has bigger aircraft, larger/roomier seats, and better service. When I search the CC forums (and some other airline review sites), however, I find many complaints about Alitalia to include: poor service, broken seats, broken monitors, dirty aircraft, left-over food on trays, duct tape holding things together in the bathroom, bathrooms being dirty and out of commission, chaos and disorganization at ticket counter and at gate when boarding, very restrictive weight allowance for carry-on luggage, and reserved seats not being honored.

 

Has anyone flown Alitalia within the last year or two; and if so, would you please share your experiences. I’m looking for the good, as well as the bad. If you had a good experience with Alitalia, I would love to hear about it.

 

Also for those of you who are aircraft specialists, does Alitalia have larger airplanes, larger/roomier seats? I notice Alitalia and a few other lines fly the Jet Airbus 330-300 while some other lines fly a Jet Boeing 767. Is there much difference in these aircraft?

 

I also have read derogatory remarks about other airlines. So is there really any difference or they all about the same, or does one airline mentioned above stand out for better accommodations, service, etc?

 

Finally, how are customs coming into the USA at JFK, Detroit, Chicago, Charlotte, and Atlanta? Is one faster/easier than the other, or are they all about the same also? I have read that JFK is much like LA (oh no!). To me, LA is a nightmare!

 

Thank you very much in advance for any help and advice you can give me.

[6rugrats]

You can look up plane types and compare the seats on seatguru.com.

 

I would never choose Alitalia, but that's just my preference. I have never heard the positives your friend mentions about them.

 

You can find the same complaints about every airline you've listed, and they are pretty much the same in economy. No airline guarantees you the seat you have selected, they all can have poor service, disorganized check in counters, etc. US carriers though are not picky about the weight of your carryon bags. European carriers are.

 

UA gives you a choice of paying for economy plus, which will give you more legroom, but no other services. DL will give you the choice of purchasing economy comfort, which gets a better seat, etc. Details are on their webpage.

 

I think you are asking about immigration, as customs is fairly quick. Again, just my opinion, but I would avoid JFK and ATL. I have not cleared immigration/customs at Detroit, but haven't had a bad time clearing at CLE or ORD, but it can just be because there aren't many planes arriving at the same time.

 

When it's all said and done, I think you just won't find much of a difference in these carriers, except for the ones that have extra legroom seats. I definately would choose a flight where I could pay for an exit row seat.

[Twickenham]

DTW is a lovely airport. Of the ones you name, I would put it at the top of the list.

 

Not much difference between the various airlines, so I wouldn't make that my primary criterion. What I would be looking at, besides price, is:

 

-Schedule: not just departure/arrival times, but how long a connection - you don't want to be running to make your next flight, but you also don't want to be waiting for 7 hours either;

-Possibility of upgrading to Economy plus, or whatever the specific airline calls it: those few extra inches do really make a difference;

-Airline alliances: this is important for 2 reasons - the possibility of being on a code-share (i.e., your Delta flight could actually be on an Alitalia plane, and vice-versa), and where you can collect air miles. A TA flight generates a significant number of miles, and you'll want to collect them in the program that will be the most useful to you in the future.

[epixx]

If price is the major consideration, consider Turkish Airlines, which costs $832 from IAD to FCO for many dates in May. If convenience is the most important issue, you're best bet might be the United Airlines nonstop flights from IAD to FCO.

[waterbug123]

We can choose from Alitalia, American, Delta, US Air, and United.

 

Has anyone flown Alitalia within the last year or two; and if so, would you please share your experiences. I’m looking for the good, as well as the bad. If you had a good experience with Alitalia, I would love to hear about it.

 

Also for those of you who are aircraft specialists, does Alitalia have larger airplanes, larger/roomier seats? I notice Alitalia and a few other lines fly the Jet Airbus 330-300 while some other lines fly a Jet Boeing 767. Is there much difference in these aircraft?

 

I also have read derogatory remarks about other airlines. So is there really any difference or they all about the same, or does one airline mentioned above stand out for better accommodations, service, etc?

 

Finally, how are customs coming into the USA at JFK, Detroit, Chicago, Charlotte, and Atlanta? Is one faster/easier than the other, or are they all about the same also? I have read that JFK is much like LA (oh no!). To me, LA is a nightmare!

 

 

A few random thoughts:

1. As Twickenham said, be aware of code share flights. Your reservation might show a Delta flight number but actually be operated by Alitalia or vice versa. Same with US/United. In and of themselves, code share flights are fine, just make sure you know who is actually operating the flight you're interested in so you can be sure you're researching the right aircraft.

 

2. As someone else said, check seat guru.com. Plug in your anticipated flight numbers and travel dates, and it will show the possible airline configurations. You can then see seating choices, and the pros and cons of various seats.

 

3. Customs can be a breeze at any airport. It can also be a nightmare. It all depends on luck of the draw, with regard to how many flights may have come in just before yours. It's really tough to predict ahead of time.

[marco]

Check the various flights on the various airlines, any airline doesn't use the same aircraft for all of their flights between the same two points. As for the "quality"......someone will say Delta is better, someone will say AA is better, and someone else will say Alitalia is better. Unless you're going to fly all of them daily for month consecutively, it's kind of hard (and not fair) to compare. If you happen to be in a seat on any airline on any flight and that seat is broken it's kind of ridiculous to say " Don't every fly on XXXX, the seats are broken and you can't recline." At any rate, I'd go with which ever has the best price/timing that meets your needs. And as you are in Richmond, can you get a non-stop on anyone out of Dulles? I go to Italy annually and almost always fly on Alitalia. Never had a problem/issue to complain about. Alitalia still serves complimentary cocktails and wine (at least the still did in Sept) Most US airlines now charge, even on trans-Atlantic flights. Delta did to UK and AA did to Paris........... in coach, anyway.