ITA Airways, new flagship debuts June 2 to Argentina
First it was just rumors and supposition, now it is confirmed. ITA Airways' new flagship, the A350/900, will enter service as [...]
ITA Airways
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Before it was just rumor and supposition, now it is confirmed. ITA Airways' new flagship A350/900 will enter service as planned in early summer. Definitely on the Rome Fiumicino Buenos Aires route starting June 2. Tickets have just gone on sale on the website.
What we know about ITA Airways' A350s.
In this article:
Ever since ITA Airways announced the entry into service of this model, there has been talk of 4 planes built for Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines and never delivered. Since they came off the assembly line and were painted in Asian carrier colors, they have never flown farther than Spain.
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The curiosity will be to see how these planes will be outfitted. Will it remain the Chinese carrier's layout? Or has ITA Airways used these months to revamp the cabin configuration to match the new image that will also be present on the rest of the planes being delivered in the coming months?
These above are pictures of the cabin featured on the Chinese carrier's website.
Analyzing the seat map, it would seem evident that the cabin layout is exactly that of the Chinese carrier, except for the numbering. The business class cabin, with 1-2-1 configuration, starts from row 1 and not row 11 as on Hainan planes.
In the map on the ITA website, the places are not differentiated, while on Seatguru is reconstructed the floor plan more correctly: you can see that the seats are alternating, with the even-numbered rows providing more isolation from the aisle. While the odd-numbered rows in the middle section appear to have the classic "honeymoon" configuration that allows two passengers to travel closer together, as is also the case in the current former AZ fleet.
On the ITA Airways seat map, it goes from row 9 to row 30, with rows 30/34 not being selectable. These are likely to be the ones that will accommodate premium economy, which is not yet bookable on the airline's website. These rows that were not present in the Chinese version of Hainan, but will be in the Italian carrier's configuration.
Otherwise, classic 3-3-3 configuration as is the case on all carriers using this model and which is much more comfortable than the old A330 and Boeing's Dreamliner.
Of course, here at TFC, we didn't miss the opportunity to book a seat for the maiden voyage and look forward to reviewing the return of an Italian carrier to South America. Taking advantage of the offer dedicated to Volare members, we also obtained the discount of 25%.
Who flies the A350
There are two variants in the A350 family: the 900, the smaller one that can carry about 315 passengers, and the 1000, which is longer and can carry nearly 370 people.
There are so many companies that have this model in their fleet. Here at TFC, we have already tested it in a version British Airways, where the new Club World Suites also debuted, e in Singapore livery. Just the Asian carrier has in its fleet the ULR (Ultra Long Range) version that can fly over 18 thousand kilometers and is used to carry out the longest scheduled flight in the world, namely the Singapore/New York.
To date, more than 440 have been delivered to 33 different airlines, including Air France, Aeroflot, Virgin Atlantic, Delta and of course Lufthansa.
In conclusion
If we exclude the 777/300, arrived when by now the marriage with Etihad was on its last legs and now delivered back to the sender, this A350 will be the flagship of ITA Airways even compared to the other A330/900neo coming in the next few months.