New continuity and old problems: Sardinia between inconvenient timetables and record fares
The Council's tender is under accusation, tenders conditioned by price reductions: "Little importance given to the quality of the service"continuità.mp4
Doubts, clouds and inconveniences on the “new” territorial continuity operated by Aeroitalia in the connections between Cagliari and Rome and Milan. A very first assessment of four days of flights with the airline that has been awarded the routes for a year – made with the reports of several passengers – tells (once again) of a system to be rewritten and perfected, and of a lot of confusion.
The first testimony is from Fabio Mameli, a manager who has lived in Milan for 25 years and returns to Sardinia twice a month: «The recent flight schedules, sparse and poorly conceived, impose serious inconveniences on Sardinians living on the continent and abroad, making it increasingly difficult and expensive to return to their homeland. The few options available are often characterized by departures at the most inconvenient hours. This situation is becoming unsustainable».
But eyes are not only on Aeroitalia: the regional tender is also under special observation, which leaves too much freedom to airlines. "We must not forget that we are talking about a public service", recalls FdI deputy Gianni Lampis, who yesterday left Elmas with an hour's delay: "It's not a good start. But what worries passengers most are the difficulties for those who have to make a trip with a stopover in Fiumicino: before with Ita Airways you could count on connecting flights, with easier check-in procedures and baggage management. Now all this will no longer exist".
For this aspect and for many others, the tenders that assigned the continuity routes are under accusation. As in previous years, it was decided to give greater weight (60%) to the economic offers presented by the companies. Aeroitalia conquered the Cagliari and Olbia airports (where, however, it had to cede a daily frequency to Volotea) by means of discounts. On the Cagliari-Rome and Cagliari-Milan lines, the most important, it proposed reductions between 77% and 85%, which will allow the Region to save approximately 10 million euros on the auction base only in the capital's airport. To the detriment, obviously, of the service.