ITA Airways the differences between premium, comfort and economy

Since it was unveiled, ITA Airways, the new Italian flag carrier, has advertised that the Long-haul fleet would be configured with 4 classes of travel.

Unfortunately, however, this doesn't mean that aboard the new planes with the blue livery we will find the first class cabin. The 4 categories will be Business, Premium economy, Comfort economy and economy.

At present, the ITA-branded fleet is still settling in. There are the Airbus A330s that used to travel with Alitalia and then the new A350/900s, which have just entered service.

A330/900neo will also arrive in the coming months, A total of 10 were ordered . However, it is unclear whether the new ones will be in replacement of the current A330s or in addition.

This mix of configurations within the same company. is a very common occurrence in all carriers. We have already explained What checks should be done, before booking a premium seat, to try to grab the best. Keeping in mind that a machine change is always possible.

ITA Airways' premium economy

This cabin is becoming increasingly popular with all carriers. KLM recently announced that it will include PE throughout its fleet, while Emirates has started selling tickets of its revolutionary premium proposition on board A380s. Then there are carriers, such as Swiss and Lufthansa, who are installing a more modern chair than the one proposed today.

At present (June 2022) ITA Airways offers this cabin only on board Alitalia's former aircraft. While it is not yet present on the newest A350s. The reason is simple: ITA took these planes at KM0, the configuration then was chosen by the original customer and PE was not provided. In late summer, however, this cabin will be installed on the four Airbus A350s already in the fleet. It remains to be seen, however, whether the last two A350s, ordered new directly from Airbus, will see this new proposal as early as now.

There is still no information about the type of chair that will be installed and, as happened for the business class cabin, we just have to wait for the first aircraft equipped with these seats to enter the fleet.

PE travelers also have access to a number of different benefits ranging from priority boarding, dedicated catering, and even a beauty kit.

Comfort economy Vs Economy

Thus, the last two travel classes offered by ITA are comfort economy and traditional economy. In this case we are not talking about a different cabin or a different seat. Currently, this seat is installed only on A350s and is not present on the "old" A330s instead.

In fact, AZ offers passengers the choice of a seat that has about 10 cm more legroom. Nothing changes in the seat except the color of the headrest, which is light instead of dark blue.

Of course, comfort seats are sold at a surcharge, which varies depending on the route, precisely because a few inches on a 12-hour flight can make the much more convenient and comfortable travel.

In conclusion

I'm not a big fan of PE., but probably when I try the Emirates one I will change my mind. In general, I think the price difference between economy and PE is not worth the expense, much better to aim for an economy seat that offers more space at a much lower cost than premium. Also because. the leap from the tourist class is not so striking And the service is not comparable to that of the business. Maybe, though, ITA will surprise me and offer a revolutionary chair that can make me reconsider. We shall see.

• premium economy