First impressions: aboard ITA Airways' inaugural flight to Japan
I have just disembarked from my third maiden voyage aboard ITA Airways, after taking a "shower" in Buenos [...]

I have just disembarked from my third maiden voyage aboard ITA Airways., after taking the "shower" in Buenos Aires aboard the Roberto Baggio in June and in Genoa aboard the first A220 flight, the new short-haul "flagship." This time Alessandro Del Piero took me to Tokyo, only no water Cannon health Since it is banned in Japan.
The purchase
In this article:
Unfortunately, the loyalty program Flying still doesn't allow you to redeem real award tickets, if all goes according to plan, this option will be operational no earlier than next spring. There is no other option but to pay cash for the ticket, which of course I did.
This year I have already been to Japan, or rather. I have already been to Haneda when in July I've made my way around the world from London to Sydney via Frankfurt and precisely Tokyo, before jumping to New Zealand and from there to Hawaii and Canada and then back home.
On that occasion, however, I lived as a recluse inside a deserted stopover, impossible to get out of Haneda's sterile zone. Instead, my last time in Tokyo was in October 2019, we had taken three Alitalia award tickets and we had spent three weeks touring the Land of the Rising Sun.
When ITA changed, for the umpteenth time, the debut of the route to Tokyo Haneda, I had bet that the borders would be open on November 5, and they were.
Having booked when no one was yet booking allowed me to fish out a really attractive fare: one-way in eco light and return in business for just over 1,600 euros. The day after the reopening was announced, the same solution cost over 1,000 euros more.
At the airport
As usual, my journey started from Liguria, this time from Genoa where the A220 took me to Rome in the best possible way.
In Rome, I allowed myself a stop for the breakfast at Plaza Premium and around lunchtime, I moved to Piazza di Spagna, the home of ITA Airways.
Service in the lounge has definitely improved, sure it's not the best waiting room in the world, but I think it continues to be the only one that has pizzaiolos churning out pizzas in a steady stream.
Finally the ITA lounge service has been restored to 100%, hot dishes and excellent bar service. Step by step the management is getting things in order.
The ceremony was sober, but it was there and that is what matters. How it mattered to ITA to restart the connection to Japan, not only for Italian business and leisure travelers, but especially to return to offering the hundreds of thousands of Japanese tourists the shortest route back to Italy: this is the only direct connection, as Alitalia's was the only one.
Not even time to eat cake that boarding was opened and from gate E11, the grand gate, we all boarded the A350.
Needless to say, there are a great many Blue champions who have a name on the fuselage of an ITA plane, but of the new flagships Del Piero, Baggio and Lippi are the ones I prefer.
On board
As mentioned. not the first time I've flown aboard ITA's A350 Airways and those who read TFC often know very well that I love this model. Since the reopening of the borders I have flown on those of Virgin Atlantic, Etihad, Finnair, British Airways, Singapore Airlines and in the coming months I will be flying Air France, Delta, and Qatar (to name a few).
I decided to fly the outbound in economy: having the status Executive with ITA Airways taking a different rate would bring a handful of extra points, but also a significantly higher expense and thanks to status you get (almost) the same treatment as VIPs in business class.
I kept the business trip for the return for two reasons: first the flight to Tokyo takes 2 hours less than the flight taking the reverse route, second because I want to see catering in business with the flight out of Japan. Since the new menu, unveiled in recent weeks and designed by star chef Gian Piero Vivalda, served only passengers departing from Italy.
Checking in I decided to buy one of the seats in the comfort economy seats. ITA has put on hold the installation of the premium economy cabins, and so if you want to travel a little bit more comfortable, on these A350s, you have to go for these seats that are being sold After ticket purchase or when checking in from about €120.
La difference between economy and comfort seats economy Is precisely a few more inches. So this was the perfect opportunity to try it, and I'll say it now: is worth all the money it costs and is probably even better in terms of cost benefit than PE.
The plane was not full, or rather the economy was not full, but it is evident that ITA's strategy at this stage of route launch is similar to what carriers did during the pandemic period: few passengers and lots of cargo. Between Italy and Japan, it is not hard to imagine that the holds could travel full and thus make the route profitable. The confirmation comes from ITA Airways' own press release.
The first flight operated by ITA Airways connecting Rome Fiumicino to Tokyo Haneda with the Airbus A350, the company's flagship, departed today full at 100% on both the passenger and cargo sides.
If the freighter is full, it is logical that the plane cannot fly at 100% passenger occupancy, for reasons of weight and distance to fly.
An inaugural flight is never a mundane flight, given also the number of passengers, it was impossible not to travel comfortable and relaxed.
Add to this a staff that is happy to be on board and the uniform they wear, and the recipe is perfect. Of course, this is not always the case; planes now fly full, with screaming children and passengers convinced they have booked a ticket to travel on SpaceX verso Mars and ready to stress all the neighbors.
No more rambling.
There is plenty, plenty of leg room. You can comfortably find the position you want, having no neighbors I could even lie down, almost like business class passengers. The extra space available to the passenger is a real gamechanger.
Even when the front-seat passenger reclines the seat, the space available remains very generous.
Comfort passengers are also given a small beauty kit. In this case it is the same kit that premium economy passengers receive aboard the A330s, formerly Alitalia, which still have the old 3-cabin configuration.
As with business class, ITA is rightly emptying its warehouses, and this kit is the one developed by Diesel for Alitalia back in 2019.
The contents: the classic eye mask and socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and finally two micro vials of face cream and moisturizing solution.
The headrest is the added value of this seat: not only can it be set at the perfect height, but the two ends are foldable, allowing you to contain your head and avoid hitting your head against your neighbor if you fall asleep.
The cabin configuration, options, and all of the chair hardware are exactly the same as other chairs. The advantages are "only":
- More leg room
- Beauty kit
- First rows immediately after the business class cabin
- Dedicated hatboxes
The thing I like least about this seat is the coffee table. It offers little support and if one has to work on a computer or on a tablet it is a tad uncomfortable. Considering, however, that the average passenger doesn't have to work on a pc, I don't think it's a serious flaw.
Of course there are personal air vents, for me a must in any class you travel in.
IFE
Big and beautiful news. When the company in recent weeks announced the content renewal, it forgot to mention that The whole interface has also changed. I had criticized her in June, while this one is much more pleasant and modern.
The screen is of the standard size, it is not 4k but it is certainly adequate to fulfill the role it has been assigned.
In June, there was less than 100 pieces of content including movies and more, today there are 155 films, including titles such as Top Gun and Jurassic Park. Skimpy, on the other hand, are the offerings of TV programs. There are a dozen or so series titles such as Suits, Treadstone, Bar Lume Murders. Too bad they are the usual 3/4 episodes and not complete series to binge-watch an entire season during the flight. Separate discussion for Murder in Easttown., one of the event series of 2021 winner of 4 Emmys and numerous other awards, there are all 7 episodes of the series.
And then there is wi-fi! Finally.
It had been a very serious failure and I am glad that ITA has finally activated the service, at least on long-haul, waiting for it to be turned on the A220 as well.
N.B. Wifi on ITA fleet is still spotty, by the end of the year activation should be completed on the entire fleet.
Good choice to give free messaging, almost all companies that give this service do not put a capping on the traffic, while ITA puts a limit at 30MB, definitely not much, if you send two pictures home you have burned the package. I hope it takes an example from other carriers that allow such connection on the whole flight and without limit.
The other two options are mock timed, I say pretend because in one case you buy 2 hours and in the other you buy the whole flight. The problem is. You actually buy 250mb and 500mb of total traffic, so watch what you activate because if an app update starts or you sync photos you're out after a few moments. Again I hope ITA decides to change the packages.
The browsing speed is good, certainly you can't make a call on Zoom, but everything else is possible. Of course I don't recommend downloading anything from Netlfix while in the air given the half-gig limit on traffic.

The seagull's-eye view thanks to the tail camera on an A350
Last note: cameras are still missing. It is not possible to see what is happening outside the plane, but the two webcams are installed, so I don't understand why they are not active.
Each passenger has a USB jack under the screen as well as the headphone jack, I as usual use my bluetooth adapter to connect with my headphones and not use the earphones provided by ITA.
Every third chair has 2 power outlets for charging computers and other devices.
Food & Beverage
ITA continues not to distribute the menu, but it is not the only company. Too bad it doesn't do it at least digitally through the screen, it would be much more convenient especially in this world of food allergies and intolerances, it would make life easier for passenger and crew.
The service started about 60 minutes after takeoff, thanks to the generosity of the crew, I was able to try both options.
The first tray was the Italian option: appetizer Russian salad, main course tomato ravioli, dessert a chantilly cream with chopped hazelnuts.
The second option was the Asian proposal: appetizer marinated salmon and seaweed, main course spicy chicken with rice, dessert the same cream.
Of the two options absolutely the Asian proposal was the better one. When I am on an airplane, especially when I fly economy, I try to avoid pasta for the reasons that we Italians know very well. To foreigners who, as Zalone taught us, cook pasta 30 minutes, without boiling the water, or who put ketchup as we do parmesan will always seem delicious, we are decidedly more tight-lipped.
Ravioli aside, all the dishes offered seemed to me to be of excellent quality. The Asian menu is probably the best economy meal I've had in recent months and only this year in economy I did 10 intercontinental with 6 different airlines. The salmon was really delicious, the chicken very good. Applause to ITA also for providing not only eco-friendly cutlery but also chopsticks.
Breakfast presentation can be improved, but it is a habit of many the carriers to serve "packed lunch" and not a tray with the meal, if you don't believe me look at the gnocchi puttanesca that Finnair served me for breakfast.
In Tokyo
As mentioned, no water cannon, but many runway workers captured the blue A350 with their cell phones.
If they did their homework arrival in Tokyo is quick and painless, and you can also avoid filling out the old customs self-declaration.
Thanks to the 3 QRs you can take the fast track and be at baggage claim in less than 10 minutes total, immigration lines permitting.
As soon as we exited the sterile area, we were greeted by a welcoming committee waving tricolors and giving out little bags full of gadgets to passengers arriving from Italy. A marketing operation by a well-known shopping center, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
Last but not least, souvenir photos under the Tor present at the airport for ITA management and some guests after the landing of what we all hope will be the first of many by the new Italian flag carrier.
In conclusion
Sure, if you are traveling as a family 3 or 4 upgrades in economy comfort can affect the cost of the trip, but if you have the status, then it is good and right to reinvest some of the savings in one of these chairs.
With this standard of service, the company need not fear competition, indeed it is the other way around, it is others who must fear that ITA will erode rich market share. Certainly the Italian traveler must be made aware that this is an all-new company, a distant relative of the agonizing Alitalia of recent periods.