Our flight was canceled when we landed in Rome to go to Boston along with three other flight cancellations. They couldn’t get us out that day and told us we would fly Delta the following day. They then told us to look for a desk in the airport to get a voucher for the hotel, transportation and meals. Nobody knew where this desk was. We searched around the airport around the ITA area and nobody could lead us to the desk. Once we found the desk, the line was so long. It took seven hours of waiting in line to get our vouchers to get to the hotel transportation and meals. ITA could do a better job in helping stranded passengers get to their hotel instead of waiting in line for seven hours.
What occurred during this flight was far beyond an ordinary inconvenience or dissatisfaction with the onboard service. There were multiple failures involving the aircraft’s passenger-seat systems, the ability to summon cabin crew, sanitation, cabin crew responsiveness, food and beverage service, and the overall standard of passenger care. The circumstances were particularly serious because I am diabetic, and during the flight I experienced a situation in which I needed assistance while essential passenger-control functions at our seats were not working. I am requesting that ITA Airways treat this as a formal complaint requiring individual investigation, rather than responding with a generic customer-service apology. 1. All three seats had significant equipment failures All three seats assigned to my family had significant equipment problems. Seat 46F: The entertainment screen was completely non-functional for the entire flight. Seats 46G and 46H: The screens themselves displayed content, but the following controls did not function: Cabin-light control Flight-attendant call button Flight-tracker button These were not merely entertainment-system failures. The malfunctioning controls affected our ability to control the lighting at our seats and, more importantly, our ability to summon a flight attendant when assistance was required. I specifically request that ITA investigate the maintenance records for the aircraft and these specific seats and determine whether these defects were known before departure, reported during the flight, or documented by the cabin crew. 2. The defective equipment directly affected my ability to manage my diabetes I am diabetic and require insulin. Because the cabin-light controls at our seats were not functioning, I was unable to properly illuminate my seating area when I needed to administer my insulin during the flight. More seriously, when my blood sugar became low, I was unable to use the attendant-call button to request assistance because the button was not functioning. This transformed what might ordinarily be considered an entertainment-system problem into a much more serious passenger-care issue. I was on a long transatlantic flight, unable to properly illuminate my seating area when necessary and unable to summon a member of the cabin crew through the designated call system. 3. My daughter repeatedly attempted to obtain assistance when my blood sugar was low When my blood sugar became low, I needed juice or another rapidly available source of carbohydrate. Because I could not use the attendant-call button, I sent my daughter to ask the cabin crew for juice. She made multiple attempts to obtain assistance. Despite these repeated attempts, the cabin crew did not appropriately respond to her request. After multiple attempts from my daughter, the curtain was closed. I ultimately had to obtain candy from passengers seated nearby because I could not obtain the assistance I was seeking from the cabin crew. I consider this one of the most serious incidents on the flight. I am not suggesting that cabin crew were required to provide medical treatment. However, when a passenger is seeking assistance because of low blood sugar—particularly when that passenger’s designated call button is not functioning—I believe a reasonable standard of passenger care requires the request to be acknowledged and handled appropriately. I therefore request that ITA investigate this incident specifically, including: Which crew members were assigned to our cabin/section; Whether any crew member observed my daughter requesting assistance; Whether any crew report was made concerning this incident; Whether the crew knew that the attendant-call buttons at our seats were not functioning; and What ITA’s procedures require when a passenger reports that they are experiencing low blood sugar or otherwise needs assistance. 4. The circumstances caused significant distress and interfered with my ability to manage my condition The combination of the defective lighting controls, inability to use the attendant-call system, and failure to obtain timely assistance caused me significant distress. I was particularly distressed because I was unable to properly manage my medical needs in the manner I normally would during a long flight. My blood sugar subsequently remained elevated for an extended period. I believe the prolonged stress and circumstances surrounding this incident contributed to the difficulty I experienced managing my blood sugar during the flight. I am documenting this because I do not want ITA to reduce this complaint to a complaint about an entertainment screen. The equipment failures directly affected my ability to manage my medical needs and obtain assistance. 5. Unacceptable restroom conditions The condition of the aircraft’s restrooms was also unacceptable. During the flight: One restroom was completely out of service for the entire flight. The remaining restrooms were ext
The cleanliness is the business class continues to disappoint. There was food on the floor when I boarded.
The business class seat would not recline. Not acceptable for an airline and airplane that is relatively new and a flight that was over 12 hours. Very bad experience.
Flew Premium Economy. The seats were comfortable and tilted back far enough to sleep. Food was okay and service friendly and efficient. We bought tickets through Kayak partner Underpricer and the price was good.
Lufthansa seats were much more comfortable than United. While they had about the same video selection, Lufthansa didn't put advertisements in with the movies like United did. And the Lufthansa food was much better than United.
Boarding to the plan was smooth. The plan itself was fine but the entertainment system work only on some seats (in our 3-seats row area only one seat had a working system). Landing not on a shoulder is very uncomfortable (departing the plan and travel in buses like it used to be 35 years ago)
ITA has these new Airbus A330 Neo that hates economy class passengers. The seats have absolutely no cushion to a point where it hits your spine constantly and reminds you to fork out for premium economy or don’t travel next time. The food was absolutely horrible, ETA mentioned 3 meals for 12 hour flight but it was mostly 1 meal and 2 light snacks. I am vegetarian, so my 2’d food was 1 slice of tomato, 1 cucumber on a dry cold bun. The other 2 meals were disgusting. My young one threw up the entire time. Flight attendants were the cherry on top - plain bad. They would skip servicing drinks to some passengers completely and if you call for an attendant, they will come and stop the button on top without even asking you what you need. I would avoid ITA by all means - there are plenty of options including SAS for same routes with better seats and humane treatment.
Nice flight. Uneventful, very good crew, comfortable seats. Pleasant experience.
Stews were nice. Plane was very old. Some of the mechanics for travelers outdated. Not enough bathrooms. Hideous food.
