Showing 9 Alitalia Flights from Raleigh - Starting at Just ₹84,677

  About Raleigh

The capital city of North Carolina, Raleigh's fame comes from its important universities such as North Carolina State University. The city is one of the best in the US for encouraging scholarly institutions pertaining to the fields of science, technology and art. Over the years, Raleigh has also turned a new leaf on its culinary front and has emerged into a foodie's paradise.

Best time to visit Raleigh

Raleigh's spring and fall are two beautiful seasons which see the city in a pleasant view. The temperatures during these two seasons are extremely favourable, and the city's landscape is quite pristine. Colours of red and yellow take over the streets and the scent of blossoming flowers take over the city. The whole air of the place is vibrant and brimming with life and excitement. The months September through November have an average temperature of 22 degree Celsius which is quite ideal for indulging in tourist activities. You can step out in the city and soak in all the beautiful weather as well as the lively atmosphere. It is essential that you carry a light jacket along with you as the brisk winter breeze would surprise you. This is also a good time to walk through some of their parks such as the Umstead State Park or Pullen Park. This time of the year, the accommodation prices also see a good discount. Booking hotels in Raleigh during the fall would be cheap and affordable. Plus, the city would also be celebrating Bugfest, North Carolina State Fair, Hopscotch Music Fest and SPARKcon, to keep you engaged.

The second-best wave of the season to marvel you would be spring, between March to May. The temperatures ascend from cold to hot but in a very comforting and pleasant manner. You wouldn't feel the excess heat or humidity on your face. The parks and streets perk up with blossoming flowers and leaves, that further adds to the aesthetic beauty of Raleigh. Festivals such as Brewgaloo, Artsplosure - The Raleigh Art Festival and Raleigh Rock' n' Roll Marathon & Half Marathon also take place during this time of the year. It would be quite fun to indulge in a marathon or just cheer for the participants. The hotel prices are also not too steep or unaffordable. You will easily be able to make reservations for rooms in Raleigh during spring. In fact, you can book your hotels and flights to Raleigh and gain some lovely online deals too. Summers in Raleigh are not as pleasant as they come with humidity. You will feel the pesky sweat and oiliness on your skin. Plus, the heat would make it difficult to venture out for touristy activities.

Places to visit in Raleigh

Raleigh is a haven for art and science. If you are interested in the two subjects, you will have a good time visiting the North Carolina Museum of Art and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. To get a peek at the history of North Carolina, you should further continue your museum excursion by visiting the North Carolina Museum of History. The city's government structure, also known as the North Carolina State Capitol, is also a good place to visit. The structure is inspired by Greek architecture and reflects a white building with tall pillars. The tour within the capitol will give you a peek at some of the pasts of the state of North Carolina. Marbles Kids Museum is another fun place which was built to enhance the thinking of a growing child. Basically, it is a perfect recreational centre for kids during the trip.

Things to do in Raleigh

Neuse River Trail is a cool neighbourhood where you can rent a bike and explore the trails. The path is actually white and follows the trails of the Neuse River. The place is beautiful as the trail paints a perfect picture for photography. To further continue with this kind of environment, you can also visit the William B. Umstead State Park. Sprawled across over 5,579 acres with wooden trails and lakes flowing, the park is definitely the kind to excite you. You would have a good time riding the bicycle in the trails or opting for a hike. Meanwhile, the place also has opportunities to take up paddle-boating and canoeing. It won't cost you an excessive amount to take up this activity. Pullen Park is highly known for being the first-ever public park built in the state and is recognised to be the fifth oldest amusement park in the United States. The amusement park's entry is very cheap, and the recreational activities are quite engaging. You can also indulge in their food culture. The city has a plethora of restaurants and food establishments that would take you through quite the gastronomical experience.

Food and Restaurants in Raleigh

Raleigh is inching closer towards being a foodie's haven with a growing and flourishing food culture. Much of the credit to this positive change in the city goes to celebrity chef Ashley Christensen. Over the years, she has managed to establish five restaurants and change the face of the culinary world that Raleigh has been acquainted with. Much recently, the city managed to get validation for their culinary excellence by becoming American's favourite cities for barbecue food. Famous publications such as Travel and Leisure and Forbes have credited Raleigh for being one of the best cities to venture into a food expedition. The city has brought forth a slew of restaurants and food establishments that have helped them add a feather to their hat. Ashley's Joule Coffee has also been recognised to be the best in the city. North Carolina's fame in the culinary world stands with their exquisite take on barbequed meat. To get hold of the juicy and smokey meat, you should head to Clyde's Cooper. It is a local favourite and has found fame for its cooking style.

Another famous food establishment that raves barbeque delights that North Carolina is known for is The Pit. The location of this establishment is just as intriguing as the food that they have to offer. From baby back ribs to fried chicken, you will get to explore a slew of barbequed meat with tasty sides. The city has a plethora of international cuisine too that are definitely worth checking out. From Sono's Japanese delicacies to Cheetie Kumar's Garland, these places bring together some extravagant flavours and cooking style to marvel their customers. You should check out Gravy, known for its authentic Italian-American fusion with their signature gravy being the big seller. You should also explore the menu at Jose and Sons, who bring forth their Mexican heritage to add more spice and grills to the platter. While you're stuffing yourself with delicious food, don't forget down some chilled craft beer too. Raleigh Brewing Company or Crak Arm Brewing are two places which serve some impeccable flavoured craft beer that you will certainly enjoy.

How to reach Raleigh (Transportation)

Travelling to Raleigh would mean to invest a lot of time as it takes close to 24 hours to reach the city. The flight connectivity to Raleigh from India is not good but thanks to connecting flights from various airlines, the journey is possible. British Airways, United Airlines and Air Canada are the three airlines that have only layovers and no changing flights business to Raleigh. In fact, British Airways can reach you to Raleigh in close to 24 hours. There is one layover at London's Heathrow Airport. As for United Airlines and Air Canada, where there are no connecting flights that you would have to take, there are lengthy layovers. In fact, you will also require a transit visa if you are travelling from these airlines. The airlines have layovers in European cities such as Frankfurt and Munich, aside from their domestic cities Toronto and Newark as well. The duration though is quite similar to the one offered by British Airways. These are the most popular routes to reach Raleigh from Indian cities. Mumbai and Delhi offer the best airline connectivity to reach Raleigh.

Other airlines such as Air France, Japan Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines, Finnair, Qatar Airways, American Airlines, Gulf Air, All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, to name a few, also have flights to Raleigh. They use other international routes to reach Raleigh that mostly consist of a layover at their cities such as Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo, Newark, Hong Kong, to name a few. The flight tickets to Raleigh are rather expensive. A round-trip would cost you a staggering amount. However, if you have some miles in your kitty, this would be a good time to make more or use the ones you have been saving up. You can opt to book flight tickets to Raleigh in advance to get hold of cheap prices. While you are booking your flight tickets, it is recommended that you also book your hotels in Raleigh. Combining the two expenses would give you some great online deals to Raleigh. Besides, it would be convenient to spend on flight and hotel bookings well in advance to avoid excess expenditure during the trip.

  About Alitalia

Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana or primarily referred to as Alitalia, is the national flag carrier of Italy. The airline has its headquarters in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. The airline's main hub is Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome, while its secondary hub is located in Linate Airport in Milan. Alitalia's other focus airports in Italy also include Naples Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport, Catania-Fontanarossa Airport and Palermo Airport. The airline was recorded in 2018 as the twelfth-largest in Europe. Alitalia in Italian is a portmanteau of the words 'ali' for wings and 'Italia' for Italy. Alitalia has not been the best of airlines in terms of raking a profit margin. In fact, it has been a loss-making venture for quite a few years now. In 2017, after formal approval by the government, the airline went into administration. However, the operations of Alitalia has been continued with the same loss-making approach and level of flight activity. Eventually, in 2020, the government of Italy opted to take over all the flight operations and management from Alitalia.

The Italian airline came into existence in 2008 with formal operations starting from 200, following a Compagnia Aerea Italiana consortium that took place to buy out the bankrupt Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane. They further planned to merge the airlines with Air One, another bankrupt Italian carrier. Compagnia Aerea Italiana or CAI placed an offer of €1 billion to acquire a few parts of the bankrupt airline. Further, to accommodate the new Alitalia airline, the consortium took up several labour agreements, offered to administer the operations of Alitalia and receive support from the Italian government from bankruptcy. The consortium even took up the responsibility of taking over some of Alitalia's debt. There were a few controversies that did take place which included the wealthy Berlusconi cronies. Claims of the wealthy individuals trying to take over healthy fragments of Alitalia while leaving the debts to the citizens and taxpayers of Italy were stated. Eventually, the new Alitalia was launched for operations. The same year, the Compagnia Aerea Italiana sold about 25 per cent of their shares to Air France - KLM. Additionally, Air France - KLM also mentioned a clause to purchase more shares of Alitalia in 2013, if need be.

In January 2010, the airline celebrated its first anniversary since the official relaunch. The airline carried about 22 million passengers in the first year of operations. The following year, the airline also carried about 25 million passengers. Since its relaunch though, Alitalia faced its first protest as employees called for a four-hour strike over wage issues. The same year, the word about a possible merger between Alitalia and Meridiana Fly, an Italian carrier. However, the merger did not take place. Trouble didn't seem to end for Alitalia as there were authority issues and lack of slots to cater to domestic routes. In 2014, Etihad Airways, the national flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, announced that they would be investing in Alitalia and purchasing about 49 per cent of stake. In the same year, Alitalia's subsidiary Air One cased operations over losses. In 2015, the airline's consortium with Compagnia Aerea Italiana was eventually passed on to Alitalia-SAI, a new entity commenced by Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways. Alitalia's Compagnia Aerea Italiana continued to own 51 per cent of stakes.

Alitalia has been under losses ever since it resumed operations with new leadership. There have been several changes in its ownership styles and status. Currently, Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane is one of the shareholders with about 35 per cent stakes. Along with the Italian state railway company, the airline also has the Italian Ministry of Economy and Delta Air Lines as shareholders with 15 per cent and 10 per cent stakes respectively.

Fleet size of Alitalia

Alitalia's current fleet size comprises 91 aircraft which only include Airbus and Boeing. The fleet has about 38 Airbus A320-200s, 22 Airbus A319-100s, 14 Airbus A330-200s, Airbus 321-100s, 11 Boeing 777-200ERs and one Boeing 777-300ER. From 2009 and 2011, the airline refurbished its fleet by adding 34 new aircraft while 26 of the older ones retired. The renewal process concluded in 2013. The new aircraft that have been added to the fleet are not owned by Alitalia but have been leased from Aircraft Purchase Fleet. It is an Irish leasing company that was founded by former Air One owner, Carlo Toto. The company primarily offered flights on lease to purchase the new Alitalia fleet. With the Air One and Alitalia merger, the entire fleet that was leased and the one air One did not lease, was brought under the ownership of Aircraft Purchase Fleet. Except for the two new A330s, the entire fleet is under the Irish registry instead of the Italian registry. Prior to the new fleet, the previous fleet of Alitalia included McDonnell Douglas DC-9s, DC-10s, ATR 42 and ATR 72, to name a few.

Baggage Allowance

Baggage allowance on Alitalia is the standard protocol that a majority of international airlines have set. The checked baggage weight cannot weigh more than 23 kg for economy and premium economy class cabin. Meanwhile, the business class cabin has weight allocations of 32 kg. In case passengers have excess baggage weight, the airline has enabled the purchase of weight. While economy class passengers can carry about one checked baggage, premium economy class and business class baggage allowance has two pieces of bags. The maximum size of the baggage should not exceed 158 cm for checked baggage. Passengers must adhere to the checked baggage dimension rule. In case of excess baggage, the airline has listed out the tariffs that the passenger might have to pay. The prices also vary depending on the destination of the flight.

As for hand luggage, Alitalia's baggage allowance enables passengers to carry not more than 8 kg weighing luggage onboard. The dimension of the hand baggage should not exceed 55 cm x 235 cm x 25 cm. The size and weight of the baggage should be the same as mentioned by the airline. Failing to adhere to the rules of weight and size could lead to the airline rejecting the accommodation of the baggage onboard. The passenger might have to send away the hand baggage as checked baggage instead.

In-flight services

Alitalia provides passengers with world-class in-flight services ranging from special exquisite meals to onboard boutique. The seating configuration, as well as the seat types, are made to cater to the comfort of the passenger. The aircraft in Alitalia's fleet offers great legroom and leg rest facilities as part of its services. There are several other in-flight services of Alitalia that add to its experience. The airline offers in-flight WiFi connectivity for passengers. Depending on the ticket type, passengers can avail the WiFi network services. Meanwhile, the airline also provides personal entertainment decks with engaging and latest content such as movies, TV shows, music, video games and more. The business class facilities on Alitalia airline also provide the passenger with their Ulisse magazine as part of the in-flight entertainment services. Alitalia's onboard boutique offers products from GRIFFAIR that can be purchased. Passengers will receive some discounted rates too.

Popular routes and top cities for Alitalia

As of 2020, Alitalia is known to serve about 97 destinations and operates from the hub Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome as well as four other airports in focus cities of Italy. The airline has been part of the SkyTeam alliance and joined in 2009. There have been codeshare agreements that the airline has with other SkyTeam members to enable passengers to fly to numerous other destinations. Alitalia also joined the bandwagon of the transatlantic joint venture, KLM< Air France and Delta Air Lines enabling profits from the Atlantic flights to be shared between the four dedicated airlines. Alitalia's domestic route connections are extensive as they have flights to destinations such as Bologna, Bolzano, Brindisi, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Palermo, Parma, Pisa, Venice, Turin, Pescara, Olbia and more. The international route network of Alitalia is just as celebrated as it caters to a slew of destinations. As of 2020, Alitalia airlines cater to cities such as Brussels, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Havana, Prague, Cairo, Luxor, Marseille, Paris, Nice, Toulouse, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Athens, Budapest, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Beirut, Luxembourg City, Malta, Casablanca, Saint Petersburg, Madrid, Valencia, Zurich, Geneva, Tunis, London, New York City, Chicago and Washington DC.

Why travel by Alitalia?

Despite being a loss-making venture, Alitalia domestic route connectivity and international route connectivity is recognised worldwide. The airline has cultivated a reputation for itself thanks to being associated with SkyTeam airline alliance. Over the years, the airline has enabled several upgrades even though it has suffered debts and losses. The airline has made its official website as a hub for all kinds of booking activities. Travellers can book an Alitalia flight on their website as well as on any travel portal. Simultaneously, passengers can also do web check-in ahead of their flight, receive an update on the flight status and benefit from the list of Alitalia's flight schedules that have been shared on their website.