Alitalia sets new pricing trend

Alitalia is setting a new trend in the airline industry by massively reducing the number of different fares on one of its key routes.

From July 16, it is replacing the current 44 fares on its Rome-Milan-Rome route with only five fares to make its pricing simpler and more transparent.

It hopes to compete with train travel between the two cities by having fixed prices which are below the level of current fares.

The fares will be separated into two categories - "easy" and "comfort".

Easy fares include special services, such as dedicated check-in desks, ticket counters and boarding gates, in addition to fast-track facilities for security checks and will be:

€99 per route (including taxes), available until the fifth day prior to departure (a non-refundable fare with changes to the booked flight allowed by paying a supplement);

€149 per route (including taxes), available between the fourth and the third day prior to departure (in this case too, changes to the booked flight are allowed by paying a supplement and fare is not refundable);

€199 per route (including taxes), this fare is always available and is highly flexible as it allows a refund and changes to the booked flight by paying a supplement.

Comfort fares offer additional services such as access to Freccia Alata lounges, priority boarding, assignment of seats in the first rows with an unoccupied seat beside the passenger and dedicated in-flight meals. They are set at:

€189 per route (including taxes), available until the fifth day prior to departure (a non-refundable fare with changes to the booked flight allowed by paying a supplement

€289 per route (including taxes), this fare is always available and is highly flexible as it allows a refund and free-of-charge changes to the booked flight.

Friday June 22nd 2012