Review Rome Fiumicino ITA Airways lounge, a long-awaited small step. TOP staff

For the past week, ITA Airways has opened, or perhaps it would be better to say reopened, the old Alitalia lounges. Just as was clamored for by all frequent flyers. and premium travelers of the new Italian flag carrier. 

Here at TFC, we couldn't let the news pass us by, so we decided to visit most important lounge, the one at Rome Fiumicino.

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Rules of access

Passengers flying business class on medium- and long-haul flights and passengers in the Superior class, the business class of domestic flights, have free access to all ITA lounges. Premium status holders, or above, are also allowed entry, in the Volare loyalty program.

We have already talked about the fact that, although ITA Airways is a SkyTeam member, access is not allowed to Elite Plus members. This was confirmed to us by the reception staff. If you are for example Gold Flying Blue, the lounge is the Premium Plaza not far away.

Obviously, the following is checked to gain access also the super green pass as required by current regulations.

Location

If you have departed at least once from Pier E of Fiumicino Terminal 3, you have surely passed by this lounge, which is located just after the bridge connecting with the area that houses the commercial part of the terminal.

Alitalia's green has been replaced by ITA Airways' blue, perhaps with this color it is even harder to miss.

The lounge

Lounge make-up, as well as airplanes, focused only on the livery. Nothing has changed inside, starting with the name, which has remained "Piazza di Spagna." Same furniture and same knick-knacks, everything is exactly the same as in March 2020, when Alitalia closed its lounges at the outbreak of the pandemic.

The impression, therefore, is that management has spent the bare minimum to reactivate the service. At this point one wonders why they waited almost 3 months to reopen the lounges, since no work was done or furniture changed, it was limited to a coat of stucco and paint on the exterior wall.

The big difference, compared to the world before, is that this lounge was only for the "few" who traveled outside Europe and had an intercontinental flight. Today, however, it is open to everyone, since passenger activity is concentrated in this terminal.

When I arrived in the lounge there were about 20 guests, in the pre covid world, at the same time, it would have been hard to find a seat, but this is the new normal.

Services

I did not have time to try the pressreader service, a now popular mode that has replaced the distribution of newspapers in the lounge. Otherwise, the lounge does not offer much.

A small note of color. Wi-Fi with the "Casa Alitalia Lounge" network is still active, but it is not working and to connect you are instructed to use the public, and free, airport network.

Otherwise, the lounge offers nothing else, as it did not offer it before. There is no SPA as per Air France or the pool table as per Virgin Atlantic. Hopefully, things will change and pampering for travelers will increase With the new ownership.

Unfortunately, it also lacks one thing, for me, that is important in a lounge: a view of the runway, the terminal overlook is minimal as is the natural light that illuminates the lounge.

Food & Beverage

The buffet previously occupied two central islands, while the express kitchen, complete with a pizza oven, churned out pizzas on a continuous cycle.

Today the buffet is concentrated in an island and is manned by an attendant who takes the order and prepares the dishes. The offerings are nothing exceptional, the minimum expected from this type of lounge.

Reduced hot offerings: scrambled eggs, bacon and some hash brown. Slightly richer, as is logical to expect in Italy, is the sweet offering with various types of brioche, muffins and cookies.

Unfortunately, it seems that the express cuisine area is still in hibernation, but for the time being the offer is adequate for the low traffic and few departing flights.

Fairly stocked bar counter, especially good that ITA decided to keep the real barista and not replace him with automatic machines. We are in Italy coffee and cappuccino are a tradition.

The service

The aspect that struck me most, in a positive light, was the attitude, smile and courtesy of the staff. Nothing exceptional, but courtesy was not always at home in this lounge.

From the buffet attendant to the bartender to the room cleaning staff, there was not one person who did not look happy. Maybe it was just me, but in a public place like a bar or restaurant to have people greeting, smiling, and taking an interest in the customer, it is difficult for the guest to leave dissatisfied.

Also interesting is the fact that announcements are made of departing flights, a practice that has disappeared in many lounges.

The sympathetic anecdote

While I was in the lounge, technicians arrived looking for something. I couldn't tell if it was an electrical panel, meters, or something else. None of the staff in the room knew where what they were looking for was and I witnessed a funny little joke: the attendants were wondering if they had opened that door, who had the keys, who had the codes, and so on. Eventually they decided to call in a supervisor to solve the mystery. 

In conclusion

The lounge is also new to the staff who work there, and we hope that with time they will not lose their smiles And attitude toward guests. Comparison with what the competition offers today is not feasible, but there will be time to improve and enrich the lounges. So far I am satisfied, it is just a pity that if you fly with other SkyTeam airlines you do not have access to this lounge.

This is just one of many reviews you can read on our site, covid and restrictions permitting. Every Wednesday we publish a review of a lounge airport, while every Friday you can read the review of one of our flights or a hotel where we stayed.

• ITA Airways lounge
• Flying

The verdict

As in school this is a grade of encouragement. ITA can and must do much better but it is right that we grow slowly. Of course the haste of the reopening is also noticeable in the lack of wifi, but these are all things that can be corrected on the run. Comparison with Air France, British, KLM and Lufthansa lounges is not feasible, but if you want to grow the important thing is to be able to copy well. The staff is smiling, and that alone is great news.

6.5

Rated Location

6

F&B

6.5

Services

5.5

Pro

• The staff
• It is open (finally)

Against

• Meager buffet
• It offers nothing except an armchair, not even wifi