If you can stomach buying tickets for fall or winter travel on an airline that’s on the brink of bankruptcy, then you’ll want to look into the airfare sale that Alitalia has going right now. The beleaguered Italian flag carrier is offering fares to Italy (and some other European destinations) starting at just $748 round-trip, which amazingly includes taxes & fees.

Some of the tickets available on this Alitalia sale are:

• New York-Rome – $748 RT
• New York-Paris – $758 RT
• Miami-Madrid – $808 RT
• Boston-Milan – $843 RT
• Los Angeles-Istanbul – $869 RT

In order to take advantage of this deal, your trip will need to happen between October 29, 2008 and March 25, 2009, and you’ll need to book your tickets by August 5, 2008. Again, Alitalia’s been facing bankruptcy for awhile and was recently given a loan by the Italian government to help it survive – but indications are that the loan was the last one Italy will be handing over, and there’s no telling whether the airline will actually come out of this intact. So, buyer beware – although the deal is enticing, your best bet is to do some serious research on the solvency of Alitalia before you spend the money on a ticket with them. Or, at the very least, find out what their policy is if you’ve bought a ticket and they later fold.