Geneva to Rome

I have 3 options of getting from Geneva to Rome after flying in from Canada:
1. Fly Geneva-Rome with Alitalia. Half-day in Geneva.(worried about Alitalia strikes, delays and cancellations) $115 CDN
2. Fly Geneva-Rome with EasyJet. Half-day in Geneva.(worried about EasyJet delays and cancellations) $60 CDN
3. Travel by rail to Milan (through scenic route around Lake Geneva then south from Brig), spend the night in Milan and then head to Rome by train. $125 CDN

Which would you choose? I will be coming back to Geneva from the north via Freiburg, Germany and i have never seen southern Switzerland. I have been to Luzern and travelled by train from Zurich to Geneva. I'm curious if the train trip via Lausanne and Brig to Milan is "worth it" for lack of better words.

Go for Easyjet if money is your major concern (would have been useful to have the prices in euro, I don't know if CA$125 is a good price or not, but anyway), take the scenic route if you have the time.
Not sure if Alitalia has finally been saved or if there's still a chance of them going bust. So far the Italians seem to be getting away with breaking all EU rules concerning government support of private companies (apparently some countries in the EU are more equal than others), so I'd say they are still likely to be operating. Chances of strikes are higher than for Easyjet thought. Cancellations/delays can occur on any airline, and also on trains, so that's not your biggest concern I'd say.

Next Alitalia strike: January 19th from 9 am to 3 pm, followed by delayed and canceled flights until night.
Next Italian railway sstrike: January 23rd, whole day
January 30th and February 21st: strikes of several groups of the ground personal in Italian airports
January 30th: strike of the pilotes of the company Meridiana
January 27th and 28th: strike of the state owned ferries (Tirrenia, Adriatica, Toremar, Caremar, Siremar, etc)

The train ride is really scenic between Lausanne and Arona. But if you really want to enjoy the scenery of Southern Switzerland, you must make some detours (Lausanne - Montreux - Gstaad - Spiez - Kandersteg - Brig - Domodossola - Locarno - Lugano - Milan) or stop over somewhere, may be at Sierre or Brig and go up by cableway to Crans-Montana or Riederalp.

I would defenitely prefer Easyjet above Alitalia these days. Delays and cancellations with budget airlines are overhyped. 99,9% of all times, everything goes OK. But the one flight that doesn't take off as planned is put immediately on internet websites by angry customers. TV shows about the "horrors" of flying with the likes of Easyjet also doesn't help public opinion.

The likes of Ryanair and Easyjet have in fact better on time records than most major airlines. Of course logical, as they mainly use smaller airports instead of the congested biggies like Heathrow or Frankfurt. The only worry with cancellations is with new routes, as airlines will drop them if the number of passangers are below expectations, but I doubt this will be the case with flights between Switzerland and Italy. And again, the same can happen with major airlines with a "better" reputation.

Another note for rail travel, which is also a very good way to travel to Rome: you really don't have to spend the night in Milan. The 07:42 Cisalpino will take you in Milan at 11:35. A 12:30 Eurostar will get you to Rome in only four hours! But if you want scenery en route, I really can second the suggestions made by neckervd. I really love the scenery (and the whole region) around Locarno.

I would opt for the train every time. I would also second neckervd's suggestion to diverge along the way if you have the time.

Aribo, the Alitalia price is pretty good considering flying from Geneva to Germany and Poland as an example is $250 CDN and up. Alitalia has been saved so to speak but they are still planning strikes to protest their new agreement with Air France-KLM. It seems for now nothing has changed for Alitalia except that they got some cash and restructuring. I know Trenitalia strikes sometimes but the Cisalpino train between Geneva and Milan is run jointly by Trenitalia and the Swiss Railways so i'd hope there would be less of a chance fr strikes there.

Neckervd, i will be travelling from Geneva July 1st but thanks for the strike updates. I really don't know how Italy can work as a country with constant strikes like this but oh well. My specific train ride would be Geneva-Lausanne Montreux Sion Sierre Brig Iselle Domodossola Stresa Arona Milan. Is this not he same route you're talking about? Is Gstaad - Spiez - Kandersteg a detour that i would have to take? In terms of timelines i don't think i can take the detour through Locarno and Lugano. I will also be in Lausanne for 2 days on my way back home departing Geneva again. Is it better to skip the train trip to Italy and perhaps take a scenic route during my 2 days in Lausanne?

Erdinger thanks for the reply as well. From what i've read on airline reviews, EasyJet is actually not that bad except for their speedy boarding which i would not get anyways and their price is lower than Alitalia plus their luggage restrictions are the same as Alitalia so i guess i've answered my own question on which airline to take. My flight from Canada ro Geneva lands at 10:15 in the morning so i will probably spend a couple of hours in Geneva then take an early afternoon train in case of any Air Canada delays to Geneva. The fare from Geneva to Milan when bought early is 32 CHF, a ridiculously cheap price by Swiss Railways prices. This is why i thought of taking the train on the above mentioned route in the first place. But the way you and Neckervd talk, perhaps my 1st night in Europe on the honeymoon could be spent in Locarno. Any suggestions? I've posted questions about staying in Brig but maybe Sion, Sierre or Locarno would be better. Not sure if i could make staying in Lugano work.

Keep the comments coming, it's greatly appreciated.

Are you sure that a multi leg flight (YUL - FCO and GVA -YUL) wouldn't be more adventageous for you? If you fly first to Geneva, you loose the whole day of July 1st and - if you go by train - even the morning of July 2nd.

May be you will not enjoy your short visit of Geneva and the scenic train ride after a night flight.

Rather than Locarno I'd opt for Ascona and as it is your honeymoon I would most definitely make sure I booked a hotel at the waterfront. Do a Google for Ascona photos. Palm trees in Switzerland have to be seen to be believed.

Neckervd, i am actually flying out of western Canada where airline competition from my specific home airport (Edmonton = YEG) is slim to none. Nonetheless Air Canada is starting daily flights to Geneva from Montreal this summer hence the seat sale hence why i bought the ticket. The YEG-YUL-GVA-YUL-YEG ticket cost me $1220 CDN return. I have looked at multi-leg flights but the prices are a rip off for the difference. I have also found that it is relatively inexpensive to fly from Canda to Germany or even Poland (where my family is from and where we'll eventually go) due to Air Canada's Star Alliance partner Lufthansa. Flights to Italy from Canada are quite ridiculously priced IMHO. A YEG-YUL-FCO-GVA-YUL-YEG ticket costs $1463 CDN so i am paying $243 to fly that little portion to Rome. Alitalia gets me there for $115, Easyjet gets me there for about $60 and a scenic rail trip (in Switzerland) gets me there for about $125. I don't mind losing a half day to Geneva and another half day to a scenic rail trip. In Milan, i can see a part of the city in the evening and perhaps a little in the morning.

Resurgam i will research your comment on Ascona. Thanks for the tip.

To give you guys some perspective on our entire trip. A rough run down.
July 1 - Geneva, travel to Milan
July 2 - travel to Rome and visit Rome
July 3,4,5 - Rome
July 6 - travel to Venice and visit Venice
July 7,8 - Venice
July 9 - travel to Munich
July 10 - Munich
July 11 - afternoon flight to Poland
July 11 to July 31 - visit Poland, family, throw in trips to Prague and Vienna and maybe Berlin
August 1-2 - travel by night train to Freiburg, spend half day then travel to Lausanne
August 3 - Lausanne
August 4 travel to Geneva and depart home

If you manage to sleep in a plane and to arrive relaxed in Geneva, you are completely right.
Venezia - Poznan: may be it would be easier to go by train via Vienna - Katowice and to skip Munich.
Have a nice trip.

Thanks Neckervd, i appreciate all the comments.