Contacting the Alitalia call center these days is an experience bordering on an odyssey, at best or, at worst, a new episode of “mission impossible”, the saga played by Tom Cruise. You need to have time (a lot) and patience (even in this case it is better to abound).
The “test call center” we used to understand where we are, also in view of the transition to Ita, the new all-public company that plans to fly instead of Alitalia from 15 October, ends with a serious shortfall . An hour to talk to the operator in the first case; communication interrupted after an hour and a half in the second. Company sources admit that the call center “is in a moment of suffering”, largely due to the “mass of requests for reimbursements and the fate of the credits of the MilleMiglia program”.
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The indications, in theory, are there. In fact, on the Alitalia website it is stated that «Alitalia offers passengers in possession of a ticket for flights with a travel date by 14 October 2021; to / from any destination / origin around the world; that forms of assistance and reimbursement are canceled “. “For the modification or change of reservation – it continues – passengers can call the Call Center from Italy at the toll-free number 800650055, from abroad at the number +39 0665649 or at the local numbers available here (list follows, ed), or they can contact the travel agency that issued the ticket “.
First attempt: toll-free number for a refund request
Let’s try to call the toll-free number 800650055. “Active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week”, so it says. We call from the mobile, which means that we will pay 16 cents on answer + 95 cents / minute or 15 cents on answer + 98 cents / minute depending on the telephone operator; call pricing starts only from the operator’s answer). The first attempt takes place at ore 12:11 on Wednesday 8 September. Cell phone battery at 80%.
12:12, recorded message: “Operators temporarily busy”
A recorded message lets us know that «the operators are temporarily busy. Alitalia apologizes for the wait. The first possible operator will answer you ». Similar indication in English. Ok, let’s wait. Music in the background. Pressing rhythm. Luckily … We still ignore, but we will soon find out, that the message will be a fearsome refrain.