10/07/2024
And oh... sad to say that, but ITA is total disaster. I heard many complains about AlItalia before, but my experience with Alitalia was rather positive. Can't say that about replacer. First, they charged me for transportation of my checked bag (the one and only) more than for transportation of me, myself, and I. I'm not joking. Second, they preassigned me a seat for each leg, and to change it during on-line checkin I needed to pay extra. Third was truly ridiculous, but made me furious (and I'm not often furious, really). Flight from Bari, overnight in Rome, flight to Toronto. Boarding in Bari. I have carry on of very modest size (truly a proper size of carry on which is accepted all over, also it is soft and not overweight). The girl comes, checks my boarding pass, and says that my carry on needs to be checked in. I say "no way, there is a laptop, photo camera with lenses costing over 3,000 euro, my medicine, jewellery, bottle of wine - it can be send as checked-in luggage". She says "oh, you are zone 3, it is a rule, your hand luggage needs to be checked". We go back and force for a while. I ask for supervisor. She says, I can speak with chef of the flight when I board and she recommends to take all valuables out of luggage to be checked. I try to explain that I need to take out everything. She says, well, take out everything. I'm taking and loading it in beach bag. Now she takes me to the counter and issues luggage tag for my pretty much empty hand luggage (there is scarf, jacket, and flight necessities) .... to Toronto! (and I'm to overnight in Rome!). Good that I noticed it as it actually meant that my empty (but not really cheap) hand luggage should somehow make its way to Toronto after overnight in Rome, and I should somehow make my way through Rome to Toronto with all my valuable (rather heavy and fragile) belongings somehow thrown to beach bag over my shoulder. OK, the end of the story: I made a little hysteric performance to chef of the flight. His argument was that I have TWO bags, that is why. I was trying to explain that second bag was not existing before I was required to take my belongings out of first one. My hand luggage suitcase ended travelling in cabin. Empty. In business class. My overloaded beach bag (the size of hand luggage as it was containing pretty much all what was in hand luggage) was travelling in luggage compartment over my head pretty much taking the space of hand luggage suitcase. I was travelling in bloody anger (well, the flight was just 1 hour, so I didn't kill anyone). And, well, there was plenty of free space for hand luggage available. Looking forward for my Roma-Toronto leg. Kind of getting loyal to Air Canada. Excuse my French.
P.S. I speak Italian. So, there was no language barrier. Just stupid rules of air company and brainless young girl making complications where they should not be.