My flight from Miami to Pescara

[cpa21]

I finally had my long awaited flight to my home in Abruzzo.  In Miami Alitalia was a model of Prussian efficiency.   They said the counter would open at 4:45.  They opened the counter at 4:45.  The flight was scheduled to leave at 8:35 and arrive in Rome at 12:30.  It did.  There was no line for EU passport holders in Rome. 

And then the fun began!

When we checked our bags in Miami they were checked through to Pescara.  They even gave me an Alitalia boarding pass for the bus!  When We arrived at Rome we started asking about our luggage and where the bus would be.  We were quickly told that we needed to claim our luggage.  An hour later no luggage, so we went to the Alitalia office.  They were able to find it.  By 2 we had our luggage.  (We were lucky!) 

Then we walked over to terminal 1 and asked for directions to the assembly point for the bus.  After spending 35 minutes going from the first to the third floor and places in between we finally located our bus meeting point.  There were actually two busses being organized.  Perugia had precedence over Pescara.  While waiting for our bus we learned how lucky we were.  We had our luggage while the other people did not!  The 3:15 bus didn't leave until 4.  It got stuck in traffic and did not arrive in Pescara until 7. 

We had been promised a luxury bus with a toilet, a café, and free WIFI.  I received a bottle of water and had to use the toilets in Pescara.  One of the unhappy passenger figured out how to turn the WIFI on.  We understand why this route was cancelled by the airline.  We were a party of three and the bus only had six passengers.

The bad news is we are scheduled to take the bus back to Rome at a future date!

[Vignaverde]

I have used the bus a few times and find it an excellent service, you just need to time it out of rush hour and try to miss the one which goes into Tiburtina. I can imagine those who where expecting a plane to be disappointed but the service is a good one and very handy for the folk of Abruzzo

[cpa21]

Had I taken the 2 PM ARPA bus that skips Tiburtina I would have arrived at my destination 2 hours later!

I have a house in Abruzzo. 

[cpa21]

I dropped my wife and son off at Pescara to take the 4:45 AM bus that replaces the Alitalia flight from Pescara to Rome.  At 3:30 AM there is very little traffic on the road.  We arrived at the bus station at 4:15.  There was a large bus that said "Alitalia" and a young woman checking the passengers onto the bus.  The young woman spoke very little English.  The bus probably seats 80.  There were a total of three passengers for the bus.  After a few minutes the last person turned up and the bus left at 4:30 AM.  At the airport the bus parked at a parking lot instead of at the curb and everyone had to lug their luggage to the terminal. 

When I booked the flights back in January a round trip flight from Fiumicino to Pescara was $13.  A round trip bus ticket on Pronto bus to Pescara is 48€.  It was inconvenient but I saved some money.