The main Italian airline Alitalia is included in the cohort of the largest air carriers in Europe, and if you plan a trip to the Apennines, then with a high probability you will travel with just one of its sides. Therefore, BlogoItaliano decided to tell in detail both about the company itself and important nuances that are useful for future passengers to know.
From this article you will learn:
- Where to buy Alitalia tickets cheaper than on the official website
- What Russian cities can I fly to Italy with Alitalia
- What are the benefits of accommodating in a more expensive airplane service class?
- What baggage allowance do you have on Italian Airlines?
- What bonuses do you have for Alitalia flights
To better reveal the topic, we will start with the origins. If you, first of all, are interested in how to save on flight, feel free to skip to the second part of the article. All major observations will be there.
History of Alitalia Airlines
At the dawn of its long journey, the current flagship of Italian airlines bore another name - Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali (Italy International Airlines). Since its founding in 1946, the carrier was completely controlled by the state and belonged to it.
For half a century of continuous development, the market has repeatedly made adjustments both to the company's policy and its structure. In 2009, a major merger occurred when another large Italian carrier, Air One, was joined to Alitalia. At the same time, the share of private owners outweighed 50%, and the company actually ceased to be state-controlled, although the latter retained 49.9% of the shares.
Even Pope flies in Alitalia airplanes
Alitalia today
Modern Alitalia is the fifth largest carrier in Europe. The aircraft fleet consists of about 150 aircraft, the average age of the aircraft is 6.5 years (this figure means very new aircraft). Aircraft makes and models are different: Boeing (USA), Airbus (Europe), Bombardier (Canada), McDonnell Douglas (USA) and Avro Aircraft (Great Britain).
Airline fleet is constantly updated and expanded.
The company operates up to 5 thousand flights a week to 149 destinations (including return flights). Alitalia flies to 48 countries, including Russia.
The "native" air harbor where the airline Alitalia is based is Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (Rome). Five more Italian cities from which the company's flights depart are Turin, Milan (Malpensa, Linate), Venice (Marco Polo Airport), Naples (Capodichino), Catania (Fontanarossa).
- How to get to Rome from Fiumicino Airport
- Milan: How to get from Malpensa Airport to the city center
- Linate Airport in Milan: how to get to the city center
- How to get to Venice from Marco Polo Airport
Italian Airlines Routes from Russia
In Russia, the representative office of the carrier operates in the terminal S in Moscow Sheremetyevo. Direct air routes Alitalia connect Moscow and St. Petersburg with Rome, Catania, Milan, Venice. Relatively recently, a new direct flight Ekaterinburg - Rome - Ekaterinburg.
Map of flights of Alitalia airlines in Italian cities
The route network of the company is constantly being improved, so it is possible that in the near future the possibilities of direct air communication with Alitalia airlines between Russia and Italy will be expanded.
Service classes
The airline has implemented two classes of service - economy class and business class. Each of them is divided into two subtypes, so that in fact four classes are obtained.
Economy Classica
The most inexpensive and most demanded - the “ordinary” economy class Classica is available on Boeing 777 aircraft. The ergonomic features of the seats are as follows: the seat width is 46 cm, the backrest can be lowered by 15 degrees, the spacing between the rows is 81 cm. Individual monitors are mounted in the seatbacks. 6.5 inches diagonal. Depending on the time of day and the flight range, the passenger can be offered light snacks, coffee, tea, soft drinks.
Economy Salon
Economy Classica Plus
The improved Economy Classica Class is equipped on Airbus A330 aircraft that fly to some long-haul destinations: Milan-New York, Milan-Miami, Milan-Tokyo (the list of destinations is subject to change).
Here, wider seats - 51 cm with the possibility of a greater angle of inclination, longer spacing between rows, wider diagonal of monitors (10.6 inches). Passengers in flight can choose from 45 movies in eight languages, many TV shows, news blocks and even video games.
At Italian airports sending Alitalia flights, Classica Plus passengers check-in at a separate counter.
Food on board
Ottima Business Class
A significant difference in service advantages is already visible in the "usual" business class aircraft Alitalia - Ottima. There are much more comfortable chairs, much more free space. Ottima class passengers are waiting for departure in separate lounges; they also have separate check-in desks for check-in. They are launched on board first.
Also, passengers have the opportunity to relax before and after the flight in SkyTeam lounges. At a number of Italian airports - Fiumicino (Rome), Malpensa and Linate (Milan), Caselle (Turin) - passengers of the Ottima class have a VIP pass for landing with a simplified inspection.
The food is presented by a wide menu of Italian dishes and drinks, including the famous Italian wines from different regions. Before the meal, each passenger is offered hot towels.
And, of course, Ottima class passengers have access to a wide selection of music, various television programs, films, Italian and international magazines and newspapers.
Business Class Magnifica
Finally, the highest standard of Italian air service is the Magnifica business class from Alitalia. Translated from Italian, the word "magnifica" means "magnificent", and fully reflects the level of comfort and service.
Wide leather chairs with a footrest are placed according to the scheme 1-2-1. They are laid out almost completely, turning into a full bed. Each seat is equipped with a 15.4 inch display, individual lighting, massage function. There are various activities for children.
Each passenger of Magnifica class is provided with a travel kit, Frette pillow, duvet, dishes of the prestigious Italian brand Richard Ginori for the duration of the flight.
Magnifica passengers are registered for the flight in the VIP lounges of Alitalia and SkyTeam or at individual airport check-in desks.
For passengers of Magnifica class, a menu is updated every month, which consists of dishes from different provinces of Italy.
Baggage Allowance
The norms of hand luggage and baggage on aircraft of Alitalia Airlines directly depend on the class of service. So, in the classic "economy" the cost of a ticket includes baggage allowance of not more than 23 kg per passenger. Classica Plus and business classes allow two seats of 23 kg per passenger, not exceeding the sum of the linear dimensions of 158 cm.
Alitalia's baggage allowance is similar to that of other airlines
Hand luggage in all classes should not exceed 8 kg and dimensions and 55x35x25 cm are the dimensions of the compartment for personal belongings in the cabin.
Additional items — a case, duty-free shopping bags, and even women’s handbags — are formally considered extra carry-on baggage for which you have to pay extra. If you don’t want to pay, you need to put them in your bag for hand luggage.
The stringency of the requirements varies depending on the workload of the aircraft. With a half-empty cabin, cabin crew will be much more loyal to additional things, but official requirements should always be remembered to avoid trouble.
Alitalia Bonus Programs
Alitalia has its own, internal, MilleMiglia ("Thousand Mile") loyalty program, which participates in the SkyTeam international alliance and works on common principles. For each Alitalia flight flight, the traveler is awarded bonus "virtual" miles. Having accumulated a certain number of miles, they can be spent on purchasing tickets, and not only at Alitalia, but at any other carrier that has joined SkyTeam.
If the total number of accumulated miles exceeds 20,000, the airline’s client receives the right to membership in the “elite” frequent flyer club - Ulisse. Club membership gives additional bonuses and opportunities.
Where to buy the cheapest Italian airline ticket
The most economical way to purchase airline tickets for Italian airlines, including Alitalia, is to buy online. And it’s more profitable to use a metasearch engine, not the airline’s website. So you can save up to 10% of the cost of tickets.
Why is this happening? Every day, large online booking systems "bring" to the sites tens, or even hundreds of thousands of customers. Air carriers are interested in working with such a large audience, so they are ready to go for an additional price reduction.
But there are a great many such sites, and each online booking system sets its mark-up for tickets. Therefore, meta-search engines appeared that were able to compare ticket prices of different reservation systems, as well as official websites of air carriers, and give users the most profitable options.
Today, Aviasales is considered the largest metasearch engine of the Russian-language Internet. It scans prices over 700 airline sites and large reservation systems, offering the most “delicious” ones at the top of the list.
For example, we searched for flights from Moscow airports to Rome Fiumicino airport from May 8 to 15, 2017. Rates on the Alitalia website, even without baggage, are higher than with Aviasales.
Search using the Aviasales metasearch engine. Round-trip direct flight Moscow-Rome
A search on an airline’s website with the same parameters is less beneficial
Try it yourself. Here is the official website of Alitalia Airlines in Russian, and below the search form from Aviasales. Just enter your flight data and compare prices.
On a note! Aviasales has a very convenient free mobile application that allows you to save significantly by tracking the best prices for the desired dates. We even recorded a separate video on how to use this application.
We advise you to immediately install it on your phone, so as not to forget:
- Download App for iPhone
- Download Android App
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