U.S. travelers advised to avoid Alitalia flights

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U.S. travelers advised to avoid Alitalia flights
By Sandra Jontz and Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, September 24, 2008

With Italy’s national airline in dire financial straits, travel agents at U.S. military bases in Italy are advising travelers not to book flights on Alitalia.

"It’s a big headache," said Martha Voytko, travel counselor with Sato Travel at the Navy base in Naples.

Italian officials this week warned that Alitalia is on the verge of shutting down, possibly within days, after repeated buyout attempts have failed. Just last week, a business consortium withdrew a rescue bid because of repeated boycotts by union leaders representing the pilots and cabin crew.

For the most part, U.S. travelers living in Italy are steering clear of booking through Alitalia whenever possible, agents said. But the carrier is the only airline to service the Naples-Rome route, for example, prompting agents to recommend travelers find another way north.

"If some insist, they take the chance of facing whatever happens on that day out of Naples," Voytko said. "We tell them to drive or go the night before. Not so much the train, since the first train that arrives in Rome usually doesn’t arrive in time to connect with flights."


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57624