This is interesting about Malpensa, and maybe says more about the Italian government than about the airline. I don't know about Alitalia, but my Malpensa experience left me wondering about Italian business acumen/ethics.
Recently I flew with a family member on American Airlines Flight 64 from JFK to Zurich, which was re-routed twice to Milan due to high winds and snow. The overnight flight left New York on March 20th, and attempted to land in Zurich on two separate occasions. We were unable to land due to weather conditions, and re-routed both times over the Alps to Milan.
The first time we landed at Malpensa we were not allowed off the plane and it took 3&1/2 hours to get fuel. We were sitting, not queued, just sitting in Milan looking at an airport terminal and unable to go inside it. The airport was not busy (8-11:30-ish a.m.) I heard that we were not allowed to deplane because American doesn’t have a gate at Malpensa, which seems ridiculous, but I'm not privy to airline regulations or international politics.

We had just crossed the Atlantic and couldn't fly back to Zurich to circle and wait for better conditions without refueling.

The ‘buzz’ going around the plane was that we waited 3&1/2 hours in Milan the first time because the Italians would not accept American Airline’s credit for fuel. Eventually it seems the Italians sent another jet over to our jet and siphoned off some fuel for us. (I was unable to actually witness this as I was on the right side of the plane, but that was the description of the refueling from passengers on the left side of the plane). It was also kind of creepy that one of the Italian ground crewmen was outside taping us with his cell phone camera. I don’t know what that was about.

Our stewards told us that American would soon be starting daily service to Milan. My experience says that Malpensa should have treated us a little bit better on March 21st since we represented new business to them. I'm not a person who thinks Americans should be revered every place they go just for being Americans, but I worked in service for over 10 years, and would never treat new business that way. Good luck, AA!.

We were told while on the plane that in Malpensa 'ground crew' would help us in the airport when we deplaned, to find our luggage and our buses to Zurich. That did not happen. We got around by following the other passengers who deplaned first. When I found the counter where we waited for the bus, the Italians (i.e., ‘that one guy’), were not helping us get find our buses. He was just standing in front of one of the counters chatting with the lady who worked behind that counter. They were both only speaking to us when we spoke to them, and they were kind of snide.
The whole experience was weird, and the airport, for being Signor Berlusconi's hometown favorite, is old, tired and sloppy.

I must say that the bus driver was nice and the scenery was great! Just wish it had been a less tedious re-routing.

Posted By Julie G. on April 15, 2008, 4:14 PM

Hi Julie
Sorry to hear about your bad experience travelling to Malpensa.By the way did you travel any time on Europe Ferries which is very interesting. Checkout this websitedover ferries

Posted By Ashley Gerrald on April 17, 2008, 6:16 AM

I have to say I am not surprised. I took my first trip to Italy 3 years ago and purchased LOTS of expensive souvenirs all of which were stolen out of my "checked" suitcase at the airport with Alitalia. As far as I'm concerned, they got what was coming to them.

Posted By Pennie on April 17, 2008, 1:01 PM

What goes around.... Totally agreed with other comments. We had same bad experience in Malpensa and Alitalia. Our belonging were stolen with our return tickets. Alitalia gave us two suggestion stay in Milan or buy new round trip tickets. We were not able to get any help from Orbitz, Credit Card, and Alitalia here in the State. We had police reports etc. We were robbed twice. BUYER BEWARE WITH ALITALIA

Posted By Florencia Morais on April 17, 2008, 1:31 PM

Strange, well maybe not, Alitalia just announced non stop from LAX to Rome starting in June.
Regarding Malpensa, the shuttle bus drivers think it's a grand prix.

Posted By Pasquale Goglia on April 17, 2008, 2:01 PM

Remarks like "left me wondering about Italian business acumen/ethics" and "they got what was coming to them" are inappropriate. How about changing it to "American business acumen/ethics"? Makes just as little sense. Incompetence is ripe everywhere - remember JetBlue, an otherwise popular and well-run airline, leaving pax stranded on board a plane in JFK?

And who exactly "had it coming"? Read any traveller discussion board and count how many suitcases went through American airports and TSA searches and showed up with items missing - this is not a problem unique to Alitalia.

Posted By Michel Huebeli on April 17, 2008, 2:23 PM

Point taken about my comment regarding Italian business ethics/acumen. I generalized about a whole nation, which is wrong. In the back of my mind I was thinking about the numerous instances of corrutption, white collar crime, tax-evasion, fraud, and other problems that have plagued many of Italy's government administrations and private industries. I shouldn't have generalized it to Malpensa without specific facts to back it up. However, when you've sat on a plane for over 3 hours with no recourse you start to think about what a suitcase full of untraceable cash could buy in the situation, especially in a country with "a history".
Regardless, it's still a beautiful place that I'd love to visit under better circumstances. Half of my ancestors are from Northern Italy, and I would like to see the Alps in more detail. It looks like I probably won't be using Alitalia to get there. The excesses of decadence apparently haven't floated into the airline's coffers.

Posted By Julie G. on April 17, 2008, 3:15 PM

I've traveled to Italy twice on Alitalia, and had no problems. The coach seating was far superior to US airlines! I'm a premier member on United, and the seats were equivalent to the special 'premier zone' on United flights.

Posted By Juli on April 17, 2008, 3:15 PM

But.... Here in the State you will find at least a ear that can here, Laws that have to be follow,bouchers, insurance, and the freedom to express yourself, like you and I are doing now. When you are abroad you are only with your frustration,humiliation, and losses. YOU ARE BETTER OFF IF YOU FLY AMERICAN AIRLINES. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER THEY WILL HAVE TO RESPOND IF YOU MAY HAVE A PROBLEM OR TWO.

Posted By Florencia Morais on April 17, 2008, 3:19 PM

Myself we had only a few problem last summer travelling with them and Delta. Our flight to Milian was delayed by about 1hr 1/2 leaving the US and we were suppose to make it up inflight which I guess we did however not enouhg to where we made our connector which we missed the last shuttle by minutes when we were told that we would have to wait 12 hrs for the next available flight (ok this wouldn't have been bad if t would have been just my husband and I but we had our teenager and 3month old twins with us Oh yeah no stroller). Needless to say we spent quite abit of time in this airport which most of the employees are very much like the first persons description however we did find once they saw the babies things were remarkable better (thoughout Italy it was this way).Our layover did turn out to be a blessing however the party we were meeting did make the connecting flight and they were rerouted from Florence to Rome and had to take a 3 hr bus ride with no air which would have been much worse with babies. But as Americans we have to get use to the fact some countries just move on a slower pace and even though they might seem rude they really aren't. We are coming over to their country and expecting them to speak English to us when they come here we are not require to speak Itailin. ( which would irrate many) So try to remember they have been doing things alot longer then us. So guess I have to agree with the previous writer this isn't just one airlines problem I believe many are having problem so I think TSA needs to address the issues of how business is conducted around the world and make some changes.Making it a more pleasant experience for the travaller ie the customer in general.
Also one last thing to address the suitcase issue in Europe you are still allowed to lock your suitcase Now we didn't and I know it was gone through however I guess forumla and pampers weren't on their list but once you are in Europe lock your bag, also we did notice many people shrink wrapped their bags now you know why.

Posted By Melissa Bowlen-Macomber on April 17, 2008, 4:25 PM

My husband and I had huge issues flying from the U.S. to Italy on Delta Airlines and also at the hellhole known as Newark. A friend flying from the U.S. to Italy also had serious problems and missed a connecting flight. I guess I should generalize that all Americans are disorganized, rude and incompetent. I don't understand why people are so quick to generalize a country.

Posted By wj on April 17, 2008, 5:05 PM

While I can sympathize with those who had items stolen....please...that is not exclusively an Alitalia problem. We had my husbands "butterfly" needles, needed for his IV infusion therapy stolen from our well marked medical bag. The flight was Horizon, Portland to Seattle, then on to Warsaw. We have had our TSA approved "security Locks" stolen. Now the only people who can open them are TSA, yet after submitting a claim for reimbursement it was denied as we could not prove it was the fault of the TSA. So there are enough problems to go around. Every airline and every airport has its' share of horror stories.

Posted By Fran Mazzara on April 17, 2008, 5:14 PM

The main problem we had with Alitalia was their idiotic policy forbidding the use of small electronics at ANY time during a flight. Evidently they're science-immune and living in the Dark Ages since every major airline allows you to use a Gameboy, PDA or PSP in-flight. Talking to them did no good so on our return flight we just kept our devices "under cover" as we used them. They were generally oblivious rather than rude, but they were rude to another passenger who merely asked for a pillow.

Posted By Mike Davis on April 17, 2008, 5:21 PM

Melissa and Fran,

I don't think your problems with checked luggage lay with TSA. The areas where TSA handles your bags are monitored by enough closed-circuit cameras to outfit a small casino. On the other hand, your AIRLINES' baggage areas (the ones airside, underneath the departure gates, not the ticket counters you see) have literally miles of conveyor belts and go-carts - most or all of which are unmonitored. An unscrupulous airline employee with a set of bolt cutters (or really even a strong set of pliers) who knows where the cameras aren't placed can chop off one of those locks in seconds. I know - I've worked in one of the busiest airports in the U.S. and have seen the airlines' backoffice baggage areas.

Posted By ExHack on April 17, 2008, 9:38 PM

I must say...I had the opposite experience when flying Alitalia Air. The people were friendly and helpful. I loved the leatherish seats and the wide spacing in the plane.....so, I am quite sad to hear of the trouble the airline is having. I LOVED Italy....everything about it..........

Posted By Joan Stewart on April 18, 2008, 8:12 AM

Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75,
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.
Washington, D.C., 20590

Posted By F.M. on April 18, 2008, 8:51 AM

My husband and I have traveled from New York to Italy yearly (sometimes semi) for the past 36 years mostly on Alitalia. With the exception of a few delayed flights on the outbound we have had no complaints.I think some of the problem with Americans is that we live in the "fast lane." When one travels to Europe(any country) life is different. Time is not of the essence. To eat, to talk to shop to visit are done with less stress than here. One has to learn this and enjoy it-- or not travel there and get aggrevated. Mistakes on airlines are made(by all airlines)We are not a perfect people and as soon as we Americans learn to understand that all things, by all people all over the world do not have to be accomplished "our way" and that there are" many roads to Rome" our lives will be far better.

Posted By Rosemarie DiRienzo on April 18, 2008, 9:04 AM

My husband and I flew Alitalia last year, including 2 flights in "first class". When we got on the plane, the configuration was 3 rows left and 3 rows right all the way back like an all-coach flight. The flight attendant instructed us to leave the middle seat open, then used a crank to make the two outer seats wider! Then he put up a small curtain that hooked to the back of our seats to seperate us from "coach". The seats were terribly uncomfortable, with what seemed like a cardboard interior covered with scratchy dirty wool. The food was inedible. Good thing those seats gave us something to laugh about!

Posted By Debbie Brvenik on April 18, 2008, 9:12 AM

I worked on board cruise lines for many years including Costa, and Italian line. Much of that time was in Italy. The often chaotic scenarios of getting passengers and their luggage from the airport to the cruise port, etc was at times scary. Amazing that it even worked at all.

As an American, I was often frustrated at these inefficiencies. I tried to fight them. As an American, I had to learn that the world doesn't, and doesn't have to operate at 24 hours of fine tuned efficiency.

So, some places are better at it then others. I wouldn't trade what makes Italy a remarkable place for a faster one. And,yes, I've been stranded during those train and air traffic control strikes.

When you travel, there are going to be hang ups. That is what travel is. It's never been lost on me, that getting in a tube with wings and arriving 4000 miles away in several hours is pretty darned cool.

It may take several extra hours occasionally. The world will be ok without you for that time. And you'll have one more travel story that you'll remember far longer than the taste of the gelato at that cafe across from the Duomo.

Posted By David S on April 18, 2008, 8:51 PM

We understand that the role of your publication is to inform and advise consumers regarding travel. In this same vein, I'd like to add some information and much needed perspective to the picture you've presented to your readers in your lead article of April 15th

Alitalia not only continues to operate normally, but, as of June 1st June, we will reintroduce a new non stop flight Los Angeles to Rome. In the meantime, the privatization process continues at Alitalia. Alitalia is among the 30 Italian Corporations employing more than 17,000 people and involves many other businesses and workers in Italy. It’s a strategic asset for Italy with a strong social relevance. And Italy itself remains one of the top destinations, worldwide. That explains all the talks surrounding us.
Anyway, all parties involved (Unions, Board Members and Politicians) are fully committed to the success of the privatization process.

Alitalia now is still controlled by the Minister of Economy of the Italian Government.

In my view, It`s realistic that the privatization process will be completed as soon the new Government is in place, meanwhile please continue to book and buy Alitalia.

Posted By We love Alitalia on April 20, 2008, 7:28 AM

Alitalia canceled my nonstop flight from Milan to Delhi and didn't even bother to notify me. My tickets were booked at the US Alitalia office and when I called them up (to be doubly sure if my schedule has been affected), the sales agent said "Your flight has been canceled --- we're no longer flying to Delhi. By the way, what are you calling us for?". I have already paid for my ticket and now they are offering me alternatives with 3 stopovers. Strangely enough, the passengers affected are given limited choices and the restrictions of the original ticket (such as rescheduling and re-routing limitations) still hold. I am thinking of asking for a refund now.

Posted By Trento on April 24, 2008, 9:18 AM

Yesterday Alitalia received a €300 million loan from the government. In addition to the €300 million in cash it has in the bank and the desire for the government to effectively privatize the national carrier, the advice to "not book" Alitalia is surely premature.

Italy will continue to be a world class tourist destination, and its national carrier is a key component of maintaining that position. They would not let their flagship carrier just disappear.

So book and fly Alitalia - andiamo!

Posted By Joseph L on April 24, 2008, 3:00 PM

Dear Joseph,
Not so fast! The EU looks like it will prevent this 300 million euro payment from going through, according to Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aJrNJD3Gs18s&refer=europe
"European Union regulators challenged Italy's 300 million-euro ($473 million) loan."

"The airline is not allowed handouts until 2011 under European rules that restrict government cash injections in unprofitable businesses."

"The regulatory warning threatens to tie up Alitalia in a months-long battle over the legality of the aid, provoking lawsuits by competitors and hampering Italy's bid to find a buyer for the airline.

Italy would need to prove that the loan was offered on commercial terms in order to win approval from the commission, the 27-nation EU's regulatory arm. Cercone didn't say whether the commission will ask Italy to delay funding the loan until it has assessed the terms."

And a spokesperson for the Italian civil aviation authority once again said that, without 12 months's worth of sufficient capital, it may revoke Alitalia's license to fly.

What's more, Alitalia is canceling lots of flights--see the comments above, and do some online news searches. As a result, even if Alitalia continues to survive, the chances that a flight booked today will take off on time a few months from now are very low.
But I certainly hope a solution arrives. I would like to be proven wrong. I'd hate to see so many people lose their jobs, and Italy to lose its national carrier. At the same time, Air One, Meridiana/Eurofly, and other Italian-owned airlines can step in, too.
Regards,
the humble Blog editor

Posted By Sean O'Neill on April 24, 2008, 3:10 PM

Any updates on this situation since April 24, Sean? I am in the process of booking Italy tickets for Christmas, and so far the only good options price and schedule-wise are on Alitalia. The agents I have spoken with seem confident that there is no way Alitalia can cease flying even if they go bankrupt, but I'm still nervous. Thank you.

Posted By equilibrist on May 11, 2008, 7:36 PM

Hi, there,
Thanks for reading the blog.
We had a more recent post about Alitalia here:
http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2008/05/airlines_fresh_hope_for_alital.html

I’m personally booking travel to Italy this summer and I’m choosing a somewhat more expensive option than flying them because I don’t feel comfortable with being caught at the last minute unable to go on vacation, even if the chance of the flight being canceled in June is low. But I’m risk averse about my vacation…

Alitalia has a good safety record, and it makes a lot of revenue on transatlantic flights, so you may be fine flying

By May 19, we will hear if the 300 million euro is allowed by the E.U.-- by end of the month, we may hear about a possible purchase by investors. Then again, ... who knows?
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=azovvZgI_CtU&refer=europe

Good luck making your decision, and feel free to let us know how it goes!
--Sean
Blog editor

Posted By Sean on May 12, 2008, 6:25 PM

I did take a deep breath and book the tickets on Alitalia. The reservation agent (who granted would have a vested interest in my purchasing these tickets!) was able to mostly assuage my fears, pointing out the potential new buyers for the airline and also saying that since the flight isn't for almost seven months, the situation is sure to be worked out by then.... we'll see.

thanks again,
Susanna Beacom

Posted By Susanna on May 13, 2008, 11:41 AM

I booked my flight with Alitalia yesterday, and today I found this article! I am flying on July 20th, and it seem that before the moment I arrive in Italy I won`t relax..... :\
Seems pretty risky.. So I don`t know whether to cancel the ticket or just cross my fingers.
ouch..

Posted By Sasha on June 3, 2008, 11:30 PM

Hi, Sasha,
Oh, don’t worry. Alitalia should be okay for the next few weeks, despite the fact that trading of its stock was suspended in the past 24 hours. The EU is delaying it’s decision to say the loan was illegal, so Alitalia will keep having money to fund its operations for the next couple of months it looks like.
Sorry if the post scared you. Keep your tickets. Keep a paper copy of your reservation with you, as a precaution in case you need to rebook. And before you depart for the airport on both trips, reconfirm hours in advance that your flight is still scheduled. There may be some scheduling changes, but the airline itself should be fine in the short term—and it’s safety record is quite, quite good. I hope you have a good trip.
--Sean
P.S. For more info, see this Reuters article from a few hours ago:
http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSL0443378420080604?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0

Posted By Blog Editor on June 4, 2008, 1:24 PM

oh thank you Sean!
I am calmer now. Althought it made me a bit nervous, I am still glad I`ve read the article because now I am more aware and know what to expect.. :)
And for sure I am not gonna check in my bag.
So thank you again! :)
cheers

Posted By Aleksandra L. on June 4, 2008, 3:53 PM

More info:
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Finnair, SAS, Iberia and Tap Portugal have written a letter to Antonio Tajani, the European transport commissioner, arguing that financial aid from the Italian government to Alitalia contravenes EU competition and state aid rules.

Last month Alitalia received an emergency €300m (£240m) government loan that was converted to an asset on its books.

"It is our understanding that without this aid Alitalia would fall below the necessary capital requirements and would be required to declare itself bankrupt under Italian law and would therefore cease to operate," the six rivals wrote.
http://www.eturbonews.com/2940/bitter-airline-rivals-unite-over-alitalia-bai

we'll keep our eye on this story!

Posted By Sean on June 10, 2008, 5:25 PM

So, regarding the April 15th notice about the pending situation at Alitalia....It did persuade me, and my travel companion, into canceling our Alitalia tickets (may 14th-within the "3 weeks warning") to Florence (to the tune of $200.00) and rebook on Delta/Air France to the tune of $200 over our original tickets) my friend had booked with a travel agent who hadn't even heard about the issues at Alitalia, and advised her to make the changes saying the situation "didn't look good"...I booked my trip online, I had no issues rebooking ..we traveled to JFK together but had to split the rest of the way (my friends agent got the last available seat for the entire sequence)
so suffice it to say I feel I have been scammed out of $400.00....as I used my CC the original ticket was refunded(- the $200.00)I have tried to contact BudgetTravel but to no avail...did anyone else go this route and rebook? and I just happened upon this blog..I wish I had investigated it earlier...it feels good to vent but I realize I am most likely out the $400 bucks...

Posted By lori on June 16, 2008, 1:20 PM

Lori,
I'm sorry to hear that you had an awful experience. But you did not read my post. My post said (See above): "If you've already booked your ticket, what can you do?"
***Don't cash in your ticket yet.**** It may take so long for Alitalia to process your refund that, in the event the airline collapses in the meantime, your paperwork will get lost. Now that you've made a purchase, you're better off relying on your credit card company as back-up protection. If Alitalia shuts down, file a dispute with your credit card company immediately, to get reimbursed.

Because you took the extra precaution of making sure your trip was a success, you paid a change fee and a higher priced ticket. If you paid a $200 cancellation, that probably means that you purchased one of the "easy fares" which is one of the cheapest fares Alitalia offers and that comes with many restrictions. Again, in exchange for the offer of a lower fare from Alitalia than a standard fare from Alitalia, you agreed to buy a ticket that would be more expensive to cancel. It's an unfortunate part of ticket-buying today.

It makes me sad to read that you feel you overpaid. But that is why I had the warning not to cancel your tickets if you had already purchased.
Regards,
Sean

Posted By Blog Editor on June 16, 2008, 1:30 PM

Hi Sean,
yes I read your entire post that day...it just seemed too iffy to keep our tickets, especially when we were traveling within the month and after the travel agent said it didn't look good..and of course we didn't want any issues to confront us when we got to the airport..(and buying a more expensive back-up ticket was not feasible....)
our trip was in the "danger zone" let's call it, we were a bit more relaxed knowing with the new tix, we'd get there....
don't get me wrong, I appreciated the article, thinking what if things really did go south, we'd been screwed...especially when no mention of the issues were in "our" press over here......
believe me it's not gonna stop me from flying...
thanks for your quick reply
Lori

Posted By lori on June 16, 2008, 2:55 PM

We call Italy the most northern state of Africa. Needless to explain I think.

Posted By ray on June 17, 2008, 9:19 AM

I booked my flight in April through Travelocity.
Of course back then I hadn't a clue as to these problems and only today realized the seriousness of it all. I'm flying out of LAX to Rome on July 6th. Where can I go to find out if my flight will be cancelled. Travelocity claims to send out email updates on flight schedule changes but I havent seen anything from them. Man! I am totally confused. Help! Any info is appreciated.

Posted By renee on June 17, 2008, 9:30 PM

I recently flew Alitalia with my fiance for our honeymoon, and in hindsight, I would rather change the location of our honeymoon than fly this airline again. They are thieves and stole our American Express miles, forcing us to fly coach on the first leg. Then they attempted to charge us 12 Euro per kilo over for luggage when we would have been safely within the 30 k per person range for business class. After an hour and forty five minutes on the phone, I managed to salvage the second leg of our flight and have our Amex miles utilized for travel in business class. As another poster said, what goes around comes around and ultimately I think Alitalia should be grounded indefinitely.

Posted By Axel on June 21, 2008, 5:41 PM

I have had to use Alitalia twice in the last 7 months due to the tour companies I used selecting them. On both flights from Boston to Rome there were no problems. The problem seems to arise with returning transatlantic flights and connecting flights within Italy. On our return flight to Boston on May 26th our flight was delayed some 3+ hours while the cleaning crew (of just our flight) went on strike..or so they told us. Who knows? Our
friends in nearby departure gates were unaffected.
In October '07 our connecting flight from Naples to Rome was delayed hourly for 4 hours until finally Alitalia just cancelled it. So many were affected that Alitalia reconsidered, put a plane in service and literally held our flight to Boston on the runway until they could get us there.
I have had it with this airline and I really hope that the new Air One, a partner of Lufthansa and not a national airline will force Alitalia into providing decent service once again for unwitting travellers to a beautiful country like Italy.

Posted By Eileen on June 26, 2008, 3:08 PM

I would love to see an update on this article from someone at Budget Travel. It is now the end of June and Alitalia is still selling tickets and in the air. So what can travelers expect now??

I, too, have horror stories about Alitalia that do not need repeating as it seems to happen to most travelers of this airline. The problem is, I need to book a certain flight, and it seems Alitalia holds a monopoly on certain flights to smaller cities in Italy and nearby Eastern European countries with connections in Italy. In order to avoid Alitalia, then, the price of my ticket almost doubles. What will happen if Alitalia is no more? Will these routes go to another airline? I really would appreciate a follow-up article, and I am sure many other travelers would as well!!!

Posted By stella on June 30, 2008, 10:57 PM

Sean,

Any chance you can update us on Alitalia?

Thanks.

Posted By Eileen on July 12, 2008, 2:35 PM

Eileen and Stella,
Italy's national airline continues to lose more than a million euros a day, according to the Reuters wire service. Trading of the company's stock has been suspended for the past month. The current prime minister won election partly by promising to bring in a coalition of investors to save the airline. This has not happened. However, the government has given the airline the equivalent of more than $100 million. This means that the airline should continue to operate its now-reduced schedule through the end of the year, though it's anyone's guess.
Clearly, the airline did not close, as I feared that it might. However, there were many signs of worry back in April. For example, the government of Greece plans to close its national airline, Olympic, this year. This is partly due to high oil prices making the airline too costly to run, and partly because European regulators are fining member states who prop up national airlines because it is "anti-competitive" for private, start-up airlines. I did not expect the Italian government to flout European regulators; I thought they'd follow the Greek example.
Hope that helps,
Sean
Blog editor

Posted By Sean on July 12, 2008, 3:48 PM

Thanks for the update.

Posted By Eileen on July 14, 2008, 11:08 AM