The service and comfort on Air Italy exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed an excellent flight from Milan to San Francisco.
Really, the highlight of this flight was the service from Paolo and Maurizio. Maurizio worked my side of the aisle and was one of the most professional, courteous, caring flight attendants I have ever encountered. He loved his job…and it showed. It always does. He addressed passengers by name and anticipated needs…glasses did not go empty and the flow of service was perfect.
Air Italy recently introduced on-demand dining and new flatware, glasses, and crockery in business class. Meals were indeed available at any time during the flight, though most people (myself included) enjoyed a large meal after takeoff and snack before landing. With the exception of my steak, which was good but not great, the food was delightful on board.
Wine was great as well.
The seats are not fully lie-flat, causing fear that I would not be able to sleep. But that turned out to be a non-issue, as I slept well for the majority of the flight. Paolo nicely made the bed and the cabin did not get too hot despite the lack of personal air vents.
I’d say the only area where there is room for improvement is the in-flight entertainment. Wi-Fi was not functional (12 hours is a long time to be disconnected) and the IFE library was limited…at least I had trouble finding movies that I was interested in but had not seen.
Comfortable pajamas and slippers were provided.
Air Italy is not really a good option for points redemption. The carrier tends to make four business class awards seats available on each flight and costs range from 72K to 93K miles one-way plus fuel surcharge when using British Airways Avios. That’s better than paying inflated “anytime” pricing on American, Delta, or United, but not a great “saver” rate. That said, Air Italy offers reasonably priced business class revenue tickets…something I would recommend to others in the future.
CONCLUSION
I’ll provide more details and pictures in my full review, but my first impressions of Air Italy were quite positive.
@ Matthew — Now I see why the US3 are accusing QR of illegally flying to the US. This is just QR with Air Italy’s name slapped on it. I am glad to see it!
Nice! Can’t wait to fly it in August on the flights you assisted us with. Hope we get Paolo and Mauritzio, too 🙂
This is helpful for sure! We’re looking at options for next year to get from the US west coast to Italy and would prefer Milan over Rome as we want to be in the northern part of Italy.
I’ve had no problems with either Rome or Milan (both airports there) when you consider how chaotic Chinese airports can be.
Is Avios the only option for points/miles on this airline?
News flash – the US3 is an oligopoly and earned $10B or so last year combined. They are doing just fine
SMH at those who support stifling competition.
I think it might be useful for your readers if you would state the seats are lie flat while cruising or something similar. These seats do become “lie flat” at altitude given the slight up-angle of the plane during flight. Constantly referring to seats as “angled” or “not lie flat” then providing further, confusing narrative on when they are and aren’t flat could be problematic for those less knowledgeable readers, especially since several carriers still do provide truly angled (at all stages of flight) seats. I’m looking at you, Air France…
Why am I not surprised to see you raving about a ME3 subsidiary?!
Ummm, what?
Wow!! The QR influence is SO obvious as they basically just change the head rest cover. Even the IFE home screen still sports QR’s color! No wonder Ed Bastian is fuming, LOL!!