The first flight of ITA Airways' new A220: layout, features and wifi

Being on board an inaugural flight is something special. Sometimes it happens that a route with a particular aircraft is inaugurated, How to fly a Boeing 747 from Frankfurt to Palma de Mallorca. Other times it may be a new aircraft taking off for its first commercial flight, e.g. When I flew together with Roberto Baggio to Argentina this summer..

These occasions are always special, events are indeed organized to commemorate the event. Not this time. For the entry into service of the first two A220s in ITA Airways (special) livery, there has been nothing at Fiumicino, at least that was the case for the departure of flight AZ1383, the first to take off for Genoa.

Of course, the debut of this A220 fell at a difficult time for the company, in the midst of divestment negotiations, with the new government having to decide whether to go ahead with the U.S. fund, and 4 days after the BoD's decision that rescinded Chairman Altavilla's proxies. The only exception to the rule is the invitation to some journalists who were able to board in Genoa on the return flight to try out the new plane.

Those like me who expected a small ceremony were disappointed to see this debut relegated to a normal flight, so normal that the gate was changed from A70, connected to the new terminal 1 via finger, at A74. FCO/GOA regulars are very familiar with these gates; they are on the ground floor and boarding is by bus.

Honestly though, I must say that I was very happy with this choice, so I could admire the A220 from below. It was also my first time on board Of a plane with ITA's "special" livery.

Nothing special on board either

No special announcement, no catering, and zero souvenir memorabilia to celebrate the debut of the new plane.

Yesterday for the first birthday a chocolate was served and a glass of Ferrari offered, today nothing. Usual catering of all short-haul flights.

The celebratory greeting in Genoa

Instead, upon our arrival we were greeted by the classic bathroom. Water Cannon is the traditional welcome shower to a new plane/company when it lands at an airport for the first time.

Too bad again that the pilot did not warn passengers of what was about to happen thus giving passengers time to capture the event and share it on social media as a free marketing vehicle.

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The setting up

The A220/300, the largest variant of Airbus' best seller, which entered service features the classic basic layout. No surprises in this respect, ITA did not venture a different configuration, perhaps the latest one designed by Airbus itself for its customers.

The special feature is the arrangement with 5 seats per row, 2-3.

There is no business class, or rather business class is the classic configuration that leaves the middle seat empty. However, it lacks the ability to have the table in the seat that is left empty as is the case on current fleet vehicles. And if you choose the area with two seats you will have a seat neighbor.

Those who have flown on this plane before appreciate the quietness, something similar to when traveling in an electric car, the noise is not from the engines but from the rest, like air conditioning.

The cabin layout is very clean, perhaps too much so. One might even say a tad impersonal. There are no badges/logos or other distinguishing marks on board except for the headrests and monitors with which the staff manage cabin functions.

The chair

The chair is very comfortable, the headrest can be positioned at different heights, and with the ability to tilt the edges, it can offer a fair amount of support, perfect for not ending up on your neighbor's shoulder.

Also notable is the inclination of the seat, because we are not on a low-cost one here, and this feature is present in the seats.

Even those who sit in the back row, traditionally those who do not have this option, will be able to tilt their seats.

Each passenger is provided with two USB sockets, one traditional and one -C, the one used by the most modern devices.

Then there is the classic coffee table, more than decent in size and suitable for supporting both tablet and PC work, in this case perhaps lacking a bit of space.

There is a second stand dedicated to cell phones and small tablets. Thanks to the double stand, you can watch a video without having to invent how to hold your phone at the right height. Good legroom, unless you are 2m tall.

Huge overhead bins, as on all A220s, really fit everything here and the difference from other aircraft used for these routes is remarkable.

The portholes are also larger than in conventional aircraft, resulting in more light and better views, But watch out for row 12, which is the one with one less window.

Services

There are three bathrooms on these A220s, capable of carrying 148 passengers. The treat is in one of the two tail services.

The porthole has been retained here, so it is possible to view the clouds from above while performing bodily functions. It is not the only aircraft to offer this option, but in ITA it is new.

Wi-fi

We had said this in recent days, these A220s are equipped with wi-fi, infrastructure is Panasonic and coverage is provided throughout the plane. It's just too bad that it is active but not working.

It is indeed possible to access the on-boarding portal, the graphical template that comes out of the factory and that carriers have to customize with all the relevant information, but at the moment it is not working.

What is interesting is that this product provides for the possibility of having an on-board portal with content that can be transmitted, via wi-fi, to travelers' devices.

In practice, it would be possible for ITA to offer, connection apart, the ability for passengers to watch One of the many films offered aboard the long-haul fleet, a way to stand out from the rest of the competition and perhaps entice some passengers to take a Blue flight rather than Ryanair or Iberia by offering this service that is very common in the U.S. but not very common in Europe.

No screen

Compared to (I think) all A220s where I have gone up, the classic personal screen is missing.

On Airbaltic this small screen is used for announcements and service information, in the ITA Airways configuration, however, it is not present.

How to travel

The A220 is the best short-medium range aircraft on the market. It is for the companies because of its efficiency and reduced operating costs; it is for the passenger who can travel much more comfortably and in a much quieter environment.

Not to mention that with the 2-3 configuration, only 20% of passengers are "in the middle," everyone else has either aisle access or a window view.

In conclusion

ITA has set its sights high on the A220 and managed to grab 4 examples by jumping the waiting list, traveling on this plane or an A320 is definitely a different thing. Now let's hope that wi-fi will be activated soon and see where these planes will fly with the winter schedule.

• A220