Alitalia is an airline I tend to overlook. I am a Star Alliance guy that occasionally flirts with One World. SkyTeam is my last resort, being their triumvirate AF/KL/DL the ones that have got my (marginal) business in the past. The precarious financial situation the airline has been dragging since their debt refinancing woes in 2016 have not helped me to consider the carrier as a viable alternative for my travel.
But then there was this absurd mistake fare that I could score and Alitalia ended up honoring (and also not running out of cash in between!). And I could not be more pleasantly surprised after my experience onboard one of their A330-200 from Rome to New York.
The Cabin and the Seat
On the A330-200 Alitalia offers 20 flat bed seats on their Magnifica business class cabin, Seats are arranged in an all-aisle access 1-2-1 configuration. According to Seatguru, these seats come with a 44″ pitch x 21″ width.
Alitalia refreshed their business class cabin after Etihad rescued the airline in 2014. The new cabin features a bold choice of colors: black and yellow leather seats with red leather safety belts.
The seat disposition makes the window seats on rows 2 and 4 extra private, as the side table is located towards the aisle. At boarding there was a lumbar pillow (red as the safety belt) on each seat and a pillow and blanket set on the foot rest.
Something I consider a must: there were individual air nozzles on the overhead panel, but only on the lateral seats. The central seats had no overhead compartments, which gave the cabin a roomy sensation.
There is storage space under the foot rest. Besides, there’s a pouch with enough space for the amenity kit and a bottle of water. The seat also featured a 110V power plug, a USB port and a LAN port (WTF?).
In-Flight Entertainment
Each seat featured a 17″ touch screen and a handheld remote control. Entertainment content included a wide selection of movies, TV shows, sports, news, and music. Non-branded headphones were provided from the moment of boarding. I ended up watching a few episodes of “The Man in the High Castle” (highly recommended, by the way).
In terms of connectivity, a 50 MB data voucher was offered to business class passengers.
The Amenity Kit
Alitalia’s amenity kit features Salvatore Ferragamo products in a soft pouch. The contents included a sleep mask and socks, colgate toothpaste + toothbrush, a sugar and gluten free mint, moisturizing lotion, lip balm, a cleansing towel and eau de toilette.
The Menus
Food Menu
Beverages Menu
The Food & Beverages Service
Service started with a pre-departure drink, a choice of prosecco, orange juice or water.
An aperitif was served right after departure, and I HAD to try the Aperol Spritz! It was delicious, served with some warm nuts.
I chose the duck breast for starters. The presentation was flawless and the taste was even better than it looked.
Then the guinea fowl breast as my main course:
And their take on a pastiera napoletana for dessert, paired with their Oirad sweet white wine:
Conclusion
Alitalia was a much pleasant surprise. The food was beautifully presented and the taste was delicious, the wine selection was fantastic and the service was flawless. The Aperol Spritz for aperitif can not be more Italian! I missed the snack service before landing because I slept through it. The seat was super comfortable and I slept all the way until cabin preparation before landing. Too bad as I wanted to try the Italian board.
My overall opinion: I would fly them again.
