Dear Sirs,
With the following letter I would like to express my great indignation of employees of your company AlItalia. What follows is a brief recap of the events that took place on 26.02.2011 at Newark Airport (EWR).
My daughter Desislava Ivanova and I bought two roundtrip tickets through Expedia Travel Services from Sofia (SOF) to Rome (FCO), 05/13/11, 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Alitalia 7177 Operated By: BULGARIA AIR, Rome (FCO) to Newark (EWR) 05/13/11 10:10 AM - 1:45 PM Alitalia 642 with a return trip: Newark (EWR) to Rome (FCO) 05/27/114:50 PM - 7:15 AM Alitalia 643, Rome (FCO) to Sofia (SOF) 05/28/1110:30 AM - 1:40 PM Alitalia 7178 Operated By: BULGARIA AIR.
My daughter studied at The University of Missouri – Columbia at the time and due to personal reasons was not able to travel back home to Sofia on 1.05.2011. Thus, she could not take the flight from Sofia to Newark with me, as originally planned. That prompted me to seek a way to resolve the situation. I had never traveled to the US before, and I had never used the services of your airline. Therefore I sought a contact with one of AlItalia’s representatives in Bulgaria. Through a friend of mine who works for another airline at Sofia Airport, I reached one of AlItalia’s employees on 29.03.2011. His name is Vlado. Upon telling him about our problem, Vlado annulled my daughter’s ticket for 13.05.2011 from Sofia (SOF) to Newark (EWR) and confirmed that it was cancelled and somehow divided from the return ticket. He assured me that my daughter will have no trouble at all taking the flight with me on 27.05.2011 from Newark (EWR) to Rome (FCO) 05/27/114:50 PM - 7:15 AM Alitalia 643, Rome (FCO) to Sofia (SOF) 05/28/1110:30 AM - 1:40 PM Alitalia 7178. The number of the ticket was 0557960578202.
When I asked your company’s representative about the weight restrictions, he claimed that the allowed checked baggage is 23kg, and the carry-on is 12kg. After this conversation I left for the US quite calm and convinced that everything was going to be fine.
It is hard for me to try to describe just how far from fine things really were on 27.05.2011 an Newark’s airport. A representative of AlItalia refused to check in my daughter, stating that he could not find her in the system at all. He sent us straight to the supervisor whose behavior deeply disturbed and offended us. Unfortunately we cannot remember the supervisor’s name, but he was young and tall, a little bald maybe and was probably an Englishman, as he had a strong London accent.
Instead of showing some compassion and understanding and offering us some advice and a way out of this unfortunate situation (he is after all there to serve the customers, is he not?), he treated us with as much arrogance and condescension as he could possibly conjure. The supervisor even dared to make sarcastic remarks, all the while grimacing and gesticulating, telling an already frightened and tearful 22-year-old girl off who was not allowed to go back to her homeland with her mother after almost 6 months spent abroad. My daughter was the last person to be blamed for the incompetence of your employees, as both her and I were the victims of a terrible misunderstanding.
I must emphasize that I have never sought an exception to the rules of your airline, neither in my conversation with your representative in Sofia – Vlado, nor in my dealings with the insulting AlItalia personnel in Newark Airport.
I am a lawyer and I have been taught to follow the rules. The supervisor rudely declared that my daughter could not board the plane as no one is allowed to cancel only a part of the ticket. Upon hearing his verdict, she and I kindly explained what had happened, and told him that it was not a friend or a relative that had assured us that it was possible, but his very own colleague at Sofia Airport. We also asked the supervisor to trace the ticket’s history in their database and take notice of any changes that had been done to our reservation. The supervisor supposedly checked the ticket online and declared there was nothing in there to support our claim. His appalling attitude continued to gain momentum, as he kept being deaf to our perfectly coherent explanations. I made a phone call to Bulgaria to confirm our side of the story and yet again our pleadings were unheard.
As there was hardly any time left to board the plane before it had taken off, and I was not about to leave my daughter alone with no money or shelter in Newark airport and catch the flight by myself (and since I had already paid the amount of $ 1, 564.40 for two tickets earlier on) I was forced to purchase another roundtrip ticket (which we were advised would be the cheaper option) for the amount of $ 1529.80 on 27.05.2011 from Newark (EWR) to Sofia (SOF) and return trip on 21.06.2011 from Sofia (SOF) to Newark (EWR). The number of this ticket was 0552184273409.
The next trouble that we encountered (as if what we were put through was not enough) was related to the carry-on baggage and my credit and debit cards. As it turns out AlItalia’s Bulgarian employee Vlado, not only lied to me about dividing the ticket, but also about the weight restrictions. Convinced by him that the carry-on must be 12kg or under (much more than 8kg, which appears to be the actual allowance), we were forced to pay additional $ 200 for a third checked suitcase, since we already had 2 each. We did that all the while having the distinct feeling that these people were mocking us in every possible way, which served them as some twisted form of enjoyment. Even so, I did not object and resumed to pay our baggage expenses with my credit card and two of my debit ones. The reason why I gave him all three of my cards was that the employee who also sold us the ticket, claimed that neither of my cards weren’t working. This lead me to call my bank in Bulgaria to find out what had gone wrong and why. I was then told that no transaction had been carried out the past few hours. Upon trying all of my cards one after the other, AlItalia’s employee informed me that finally he had been able to charge my credit card. As a result, he gave me two receipts (one for the ticket for $ 1529.80 and one for the baggage for $ 310) both of which were supposedly charged on my credit card.
Upon checking my cards balance, it turned out that only the baggage fee of $ 310 was paid with my credit card, and the sum of $ 1529.80 had been taken out of my debit card.
I am utterly offended by the disrespectful behavior, incompetence and erring of AlItalia’s employees at Sofia Airport – Vlado, and those at Newark- the supervisor along with the person who sold us the ticket and took the baggage fees.
Thus, after my arrival in Sofia, tired, hurt and stressed out of the whole episode in Newark, I went to the office of Alitalia in Sofia on the first workday 30.05.2011 on Angel Kanchev Str. There, I met up with an employee named Angela, who listened through my whole story and after I finished my recap, found my reservation online in Alitalia’s database. In her records, it was clear that only the first part of my daughter’s ticket was cancelled while the other one (the return trip) was still intact and supposedly should have been ready to use on 27.05.2011. This finding angered me even more as I recalled well enough Alitalia representatives’ in Newark Airport denying and arguing for over an hour that such a dividing did not exist and my daughter’s ticket could not be used in any way.
Alitalia’s agent in the office in Sofia – Angela also cancelled the return ticket from Sofia to Newark for 21.06.2011, which, as I informed her, I was forced to buy as a cheaper alternative to a one-way ticket, with no intention to use. Angela told me that no part of the return ticket and not even the flight taxes would be paid back to me. Upon asking for an e-mail that I could address my complaint to, Angela informed me that no such electronic resource existed, and that the only way to communicate my experience to a higher level was through her. An obvious and ill-conceived lie, it was the last thing I needed at that moment. What is more, I even overheard two of your other employees, at that time present in the office, gossiping not about your other agent Vlado – who ultimately caused me emotional distress and almost $ 2000, but about my friend who made the connection between him and me.
In the end, I left the office even more frustrated than I had been previously, and was intent on finding a proper way to contact someone who could take the necessary measures for the closure of my family’s ordeal.
I am hereby writing this letter for two reasons. I am a lawyer, working in the Inspectorate to the Supreme Judicial Council in Bulgaria, and my husband is an appellate judge in Sofia Appellate Court. In our 50 years of age we had never before encountered such appalling attitude, and such arrogant and abusive behavior of employees, whose incompetence cost us this much!
If your employee Vlado had told me that the ticket couldn’t be divided in such a way, or that the carry-on baggage restriction is 8kg and not 12kg, I would have naturally taken the necessary measures beforehand and this whole nightmare at Newark airport would not have happened on 27. 05.2011. With this regard, I insist that you investigate the case and punish the above-mentioned employees for their incompetence and insulting behavior – Vlado from Sofia airport, and the supervisor from the Newark airport.
Second of all, I do believe that the company owes me, apart from a decent apology, $ 1000 of taxes for the first ticket that was annulled and never used on 13.05.2011, and the return ticket for 30.05.2011 that we are not going to use either. I am determined, in the name of justice and the dignity of both my daughter and me, to defend my rights in court if you do not respect my complaint and transfer the wanted amount to my debit or credit card. I shall also seek non-material damages for the stress and insult that your employees caused me. This whole endeavor has left me feeling very sick and so I had to visit my family doctor on 31.05.2011.
With regard to this account of the events, I hope to reach a voluntary, extrajudicial agreement with your company for the amount of $ 1000 covering services that we never used.
I hereby attach our boarding passes and the documents issued on 27.05.2011 at Newark airport.

Kind Regards,
Diana Ivanova
Desislava Ivanova
01.06.2011
Sofia, Ovcha Kupel 1, bl.507, ent. D, ap. 131
(+359)887 609 872
[email protected]
[email protected]

It seems Alitalia overbooks massively. We arrived in Rome for return flight flight home over an hour before the flight and found that we did not have a seat. The tickets had been relatively expensive - not a cheap rate. We were told that checkin started 3 hours before the flight - so it seems you need to turn up hours before checkin to be sure of a seat. We were then held until checkin closed before finding we had tickets - but we did not get upgraded to business so why did we have to wait for othereconomy passengers to arrive if we had full fare economy tickets - all very suspect. Avoid Alitalia if at all possible.

I booked my flight with alitalia a few weeks back via expedia, yesterday while printing out the information of the tickets i realised that i mistakenly inserted my wifes maiden name instead of her married name. I called Alitalia yesterday morning to eget this changed due to her now having a new passport with her married name and my not wanting her to have problems at the border/s. When i called they informed me they have apolicy that they will not make any changes to the booking, but if i call their italian branch they may be able to. I called the italian call centre and they said expedia had to fix it. I called expedia and they said it was Alitalia who made these changes so i called Alitalia customer services who told me they don't fix problems over the phone and to write an email. I did this and marked it as urgent as my flight was in three days time. Four hours later i got an an automatted email saying to call the reservation line again which i did and got a very rude person answering telling me it wasnt possible. I informed him of customer services saying it was possible and the reply to my mail saying to call him, he then said he would need authorisation to make the changes, then after my waiting he said the person who could do this has left already and i must call back today(the next day). I called again this morning and gave my whole story to be told firstly it wasn't possible and the person who authorises it is only in at four(so he works less than four hours a day) to then call the italian call centre. I did this and they informed me the person who can do this is expedia seeing as they booked it on my behalf as i used thir website to book the flight. I called expedia who then obviously said Alitalia are the people who allow this but she would call on my behalf and put me on hold. Ten minutes later she came back shocked to hear that Alitalia have a crazy rule that no amendments are allowed on the names. So i had to cnacel my wifes flight and rebook another at a cost over £120 more than if i had done it yesterday. so due to their mad rule i have lost my first bit of money and the cost of the flight which if they had ever told me straight instead of bounching me around would have cost me £120 less and my wifes flight is at different times due to this.

My luggage was lost by Alitalia in Dec and they still owe me $1465.00.
After landing in Milan in December 2009, after waiting hours for luggage that never arrived, after I realized that my luggage was lost, after waiting hours at the lost luggage desk, I was told to repurchase everything I would need for my week long vacation because Alitalia informed me that they could not get my luggage to me until one week later (the day before I was departing to return home.)
I was very accommodating but they refused to have my luggage delivered to any of the cities that we were going to be in during the week (multitude of excuses: holidays, wouldn’t pay for courier, etc…) and so we had to return to the first city at the end of our trip to retrieve it.
Because we were changing cities everyday on this “vacation, ”and the luggage they lost was my ONLY piece of luggage, I not only had to buy all of my clothing, shoes, boots (it was snowing), makeup, toiletries, but I also had to buy luggage!
Alitalia assured me that I would be reimbursed as long as I kept all of my (itemized) receipts and submitted a claim when I returned to the states. (Which, of course, I did.) But after almost 4 months I didn’t hear from them, and when I followed up, they lied and told me that my luggage was returned to me the following day, and then they denied my claim. Naturally, I had proof that they were lying, (I received my luggage one week later, not one day later], and so then they made up a new fake nonexistent reimbursement policy, (there is no such policy, I have all the paperwork from Italy, and there is no such policy on their website), and so then they offered me $225*, instead of the $1465* they owe me. (However, I have not received a penny).
*Just purchasing toothpaste, a toothbrush, comb, hand cream, makeup, deodorant, sneakers and a tote bag, which I bought and used as LUGGAGE because it was cheaper, cost me $270.00! They offered me $225 as a “settlement” (which I never received), but WHAT ABOUT THE COST OF MY CLOTHES, BOOTS, UNDERWEAR?? WHAT ABOUT THE COST OF MY CABS, BUSES (to find these stores), AND PHONE CALLS (to track down my lost luggage)??
Should I be expected to pay for replacing my clothes—I packed them---they lost them.
They broke their contract:
http://www.alitalia.com/IL_EN/Images/CGT_en_0605_final_tcm50-10352.pdf
see page 2 of THEIR document:
“…..provide the passenger with the agreed carriage according to the defined itinerary and
schedule, carrying the passenger and his/her baggage from the place of departure to the
place of destination…”

A simple search online will show you that Alitalia does not ever pay for lost luggage.
I have written to, emailed and called Alitalia 23 times. I have contacted Eyewitness News/7 On Your Side, The New York State Consumer Board, The Better Business Bureau, and Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General…..and various travel troubleshooters online……..I am still waiting for my check for $1465.00.
The other very frightening thing is that their prices are very CHEAP, and so students planning to study abroad find this very appealing….
STUDENTS BEWARE!—DO YOUR HOMEWORK---RESEARCH THIS AIRLINE BEFORE YOU BUY A TICKET! UNLESS YOU ARE PLANNING TO CARRY ON YOUR LUGGAGE CASES, DO NOT FLY ALITALIA!

On May 28 2009, I arrived in Miami with a fight alitalia coming from Rome, Italy. I could not find my luggage and filed a claim. At the airport the employees told me I would have received my luggage the following day at my residence. I tried to keep in touch with the airline after I did not receive any news but it ended with hours and hours of waiting and no human voice could be heard. I called also the offices in Italy but if someone would answer would respond almost bothered from a custumer question. all those months I have been sending email, letters, faxes at the New york and rome office but the only answer is: "i am sorry for the inconvenince". I also sent my mother who lives in Italy to check at the Naples and Rome airports but they told her that I can forget about my luggage because after 20 days they give away unclaimed luggages(meaning employers take stuff that fits from the luggages and the rest is sold).

In my luggage I had valuable items because I had a couple of weddings, a planned vacation, and important professional meetings. I sent all the receipts where available of all the new items I bought just before my trip but alitalia claims that the reimbursment is limited to $1000( while I had more than $6000 of mercheaindise)
The truth is that luggages are handled by third companies that misplace luggages and have not interest in serving luggages owner because we are not their customers. the truth is that lately, in the italian airports there have been many arrests among employees of airlines(including alitalia)who would stole from luggages.
Now, I will file a small claim action trying to get back the value of what is already mine, but I am aware that it will be difficult because airlines are protected from the law.

the buttom line is that we have to pay a lot of money for tickets, sometimes also pay a fee for the luggage, then they lose them and ruine your vacation, in the meanwhile you have to buy what do you need and wait months or years before they reimburse it. Your favorite shirt, your precious vitton bag, and the dress for your best friend wedding are lost and nobody will ever refound them.