How to ruin an airline, Italian style - The Commentator
Full article worth reading, a couple of extracts here :
Alitalia has had a fairly inglorious history. Originally it was a Rome airline. Everyone who worked for Alitalia had to live in Rome. So the ground and air crews in Milan or Venice had to be flown up there and put up in hotels while they worked their shifts, then flown back. Never most people’s airline of choice, except for members of the governing class who travelled free, its name was said to be an acronym of Always Late In Takeoff, Always Late In Arrival, and indeed its punctuality record was and is appalling. Often – it seemed often – you would wait in your seat while nothing happened then a beautifully dressed Italian would stroll on board and the plane could leave. He hadn’t worked up a sweat: he knew they’d wait for him.