Alitalia millemiles waste paper? From the court the ok to the class action of those who were "screwed"
First victory for the 206 members of the Millemiglia program who had initiated a class action against [...]
ITA Airways
Alitalia
SkyTeam
First win for the 206 members of the Millemiglia program who had initiated a class action against Italia Loyalty, the Alitalia subsidiary in charge of managing the loyalty program of the former national airline, which ceased flight operations in October 2021.
In this article:
The Court of Rome has, in fact, declared the admissibility of the class action itself, arguing that the plaintiffs have shared and homogeneous interests that they demand be protected.
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Subject of the dispute is. the value of the so-called 'miles', i.e., the points that as a member of the Millemiglia program were accumulated through the purchase of the company's flights and those of its partners or through expenditures made with or at other partners of the company (the American Express Alitalia credit card, some car rental companies, staying at the hotels of some hotel companies, just to name a few examples).
In November 2021, when its flight activity had already been over for about a month, the chances for members to actually spend their miles were drastically reduced. And Alitalia signed an agreement with the travel platform lastminute.com where one could yes use the accumulated Miles to buy vouchers to be turned into flights, but through A devaluation of their value (translated into euros) by about 30 times.
If, for example, On long-haul flights, the miles had a value of 5 cents each, that value had reduced to just 3 thousandths of a euro when making an award ticket purchase through lastminute.com. Thus, with 80 thousand miles one would no longer book, as was possible before, a round-trip Rome-New York flight, but a voucher worth 150 euros, with which at most one would buy a domestic flight.
In their class action lawsuit, the travelers demand that the judge set a refund calculated on the original value of the miles, which was identified in 2.5 cents each.
Italia Loyalty, the court order reads, reiterates the legitimacy of its conduct and that it acted to protect the rights of Millemiglia program members, recalling that it had to manage an extraordinary and totally unpredictable situation, also taking into account the Ban on mileage transfer to ITA Airways decided by European Commission September 10, 2021, because this would have constituted continuity between the two companies, Alitalia and ITA.
The process, in fact, only begins now, with next hearing set for June 2024. Considering that the 206 initiators of the class action are. Holders of a portfolio of about 50 million miles, in the event of a judgment against you, Italia Loyalty would find itself at To shell out an amount of about 1.2 million euros.
But this may only be the tip of the iceberg, because the Rome court order also restored the possibility, for other Millemiglia members Who hold at least 12 thousand miles (the minimum to qualify for an 'award') To join the same class action, setting 150 days as the deadline within which to adhere.
The link to the committee's Facebook page (formed in 2021 by Marco Di Martino) to join the class action.