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Analysing the passenger experience of a start-up airline — particularly one launched as quickly as ITA Airways, the successor to Italian national carrier Alitalia — is always interesting, so when the airline’s latest A350 turned up outside the Airbus chalet at the Farnborough International Airshow, Runway Girl Network leapt at the chance to get on board.
Review: ITA Airways, A320 Business Class - Ita Airways Business Class Review title=Flight Review: ITA Airways, A320 Business Class style=width:100%;text-align:center; onerror=this.onerror=null;this.src='https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRG4s82HC1mgyWUJr_-H5hMjUllpAClb9bRxzhz_nGafBqFFGFK1qezKxeJ0V2tjO07wkI&usqp=CAU'; />
Up front ahead of doors two is a full cabin of the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats which were introduced to the A350 by Qatar Airways in the middle of the last decade. They’re still a solid product on the airframe: by no means a high-density seat, but lacking some of the bells, whistles, and suite doors seen in other products.
Ita Airways' A350 Business Class: Bellissimo!
Your author understands that this aircraft was one of the numerous widebodies that was supposed to go to one of the HNA Group airlines, and that ITA didn’t have the opportunity to change anything beyond the very lightest set of seat dressings in terms of colour, materials and finish (CMF).
At this point in the evolution of longhaul business class, Super Diamond is the kind of decent product that will serve many airlines well — a commoditised seat that can easily and effectively be swapped between carriers without much fuss.
It has the two irregular pentagonal side bins with power, an effective if somewhat inelegant sliding tray, a decently sized inflight entertainment monitor, and deals with the head injury criterion of certification via an over-shoulder belt.
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In ITA’s iteration, it is also very, very greige. Airbus’ mood lighting can only do so much to illuminate a cabin where the primary view from the rear is off-white thermoplastics, and the primary view from the front is beige seat leather and grey-tan fabric in the shroud.
When seated, the only thing you can see that isn’t off-white thermoplastic is the off-grey thermoplastic of the table and side bins.
Even the soft product was white-on-white, and with a very fussy, elderly sort of aesthetic that could almost come out the other side of cottagecore, if it weren’t just… well, white.
Italian Style: Inside Ita Airways' New Airbus A350 900
There was literally nothing in view, whether hard product or soft — with the faintly sad exception of a little bit of ribbon that tied the cutlery to the napkin — that had anything to do with the airline’s brand.
It’s an odd juxtaposition from the livery, the inspiration for which seems to be the Italian national team football shirt taken rather too literally, in that sort of “the plane flew through nonna’s washing line and got caught up in the shirt” way.
(That’s not the only way the livery is odd, by the way. The strange Louis Vuitton handbag-esque symbols on the rear of the aircraft are, an ITA representative at the airshow told your author, directly inspired by Italian designers. When asked which ones, or what the symbols represent, the representative could not say.)
Review: Alitalia A320 Europe Business Class
A positive note came from the rearmost cabin, where the slightly lighter greige reacted pleasingly with the blue and gold Airbus moodlighting in an interesting way, but the airline can’t rely on this in branding terms.
The whole experience was rather odd, and reinforced the idea that ITA seemingly doesn’t know what it wants to be, apart from Not Alitalia.
A forty-five minute media briefing from the airline’s leadership at the airshow didn’t exactly clarify matters. ITA is the subject of a bidding war from competing parent groups: one from Lufthansa and MSC, one from Delta and Air France-KLM. With new direction, a new owner will hopefully be able to put much more of a stamp on the passenger experience than has, as yet, been managed.
Ita Airways Customer Reviews
Deputy Editor John Walton, an international journalist, contributes opinion and analysis to RGN’s Details + Design and Nose To Tail columns. He specializes in cabin interiors, seating, connectivity, and premium class service. A... Read MoreITA Airways is the new name for what remains of the Alitalia network and fleet. If you book with ITA then part of the booking engine still says Alitalia on it, many of the aircraft still have the Alitalia livery, and many of the staff seem to be ex-Alitalia as well.
At the moment it is owned by the Italian government, but many other airlines have expressed an interest to buy a stake, including Air France/KLM.
ITA Airways has a new frequent flyer programme called Volare, which I had tried to register for but which has a technical fault meaning you need a US zip code in your address. As far as I know, this has not yet been fixed.
News: Ita's New A350 Business Class, Fcdo Warning For Sri Lanka, Eu Passport Rules And Nhs Covid Pass Change
I arrived at London Heathrow Terminal 2 at around 0530 for my 0725 departure on AZ201 to Rome Fiumicino. This was the first time I had visited in the airport since the dropping of the requirement to wear face masks.
Check in was at Zone D. The priority queue was closed, and remained so for passengers until an attendant sees proof that you had completed the Italian Passenger Locator Form.
I was also reminded that on board I would need to wear a FFP2 mask, an Italian government regulation until the at least the end of March.
Ita Airways Puts Its Modern Airbus A350 On Flights Between Rome And São Paulo (gru)
ITA doesn’t have its own lounge at Heathrow and there isn’t a Skyteam Lounge (the one in T4 closed during covid and isn’t reopening) so uses the Plaza Premium Lounge (signposted A3). It was quiet at this time (it opens at 0500) and had a small breakfast selection of hot and cold food.
I noticed as we boarded this A320 aircraft that the livery said ‘Alitalia operated by ITA Airways’, so perhaps the brand will make a reappearance at some point.
I’m sure some would welcome it back, though for reasons of EU rules, it might not be possible (the Italian government provided significant support to the airline and keeping the name would imply there had been ‘continuity’).
Review Of Ita Airways Flight From Milan To Rome In Economy
The seating on board is the old Alitalia seating, so leather seating with generous (32-inch) leg room and the middle seat blocked off with a tray table which is narrower than the middle seat and so gives both the window seat and the aisle seat more room. The antimacassar have the Alitalia insignia and the front of the cabin also has the Alitalia sign. I was in seat 4A and with the middle seat blocked could lower the table on that seat so having both the table over the seat and the fold down table to store drinks and food on when working.
The leg room means that unless the person in front of you reclines their seat there is enough room to work on a laptop, which is what I did for this morning flight, clearing up my inbox and also writing this review.
The food offering was fairly simple and would not have filled a hungry person, but luckily I had eaten in the Plaza Premium Lounge. It was a Actimel bio yoghurt, a ham and cheese croissant, another form of croissant and some fruit, along with a coffee and some water.
Reviewing Ita Airways, Formerly Alitalia
I was impressed the efforts the flight attendants went to when the passenger in front of me said he had dropped his AirPods case on take-off. They went up and down the cabin crouching down looking for it, and seemed only mildly nonplussed when he admitted after 30 minutes that he’d found it in his jacket.
The flight was uneventful, apart from a brief period of turbulence, and we made good time to Rome arriving early at around 1010. There were no delays on disembarking, and we were quickly into the airport, where immigration caused no problems (stamp in the passport, of course) and with no luggage we were on our way into Rome
A good service. The days of these older seats may be numbered, but they are lovely and comfortable when you get to sit in them, and of course the leg room is very welcome.
Why Everyone Is Suddenly Flying Premium Economy
Of course, the seat was the same, though the food offering for the afternoon flight in economy was some Italian snacks (Trallini) and a choice of fruit juice.
I was sitting in 6C for this return journey, with the curtain for business class in front of row 4. I was lucky enough to have a seat free next to me, although my near neighbour in the window seat (6A) took off his shoes and socks and then spent the flight rubbing his feet on the carpet, perhaps to exfoliate or just because he had an irritable skin condition. I was glad of the extra seat between us and also the requirement to wear an FFP2 mask. Service again, was friendly and efficient.Hello from Rome! I just flew ITA Airways’ Airbus A350-900 business class from Miami, as part of my current review trip. While I was ridiculously excited to fly with Alitalia’s successor, I was expecting to come away from the flight feeling lukewarm at best. Well, the whole experience was a very pleasant surprise, with exceptional food, charming service, thoughtful amenities, and a competitive hard product.
ITA Airways managed to acquire Airbus A350s with pretty short notice,
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