ITA Airways new A321neo enters service in December: will fly daily between Rome and Tel Aviv
Since ITA Airways announced the order for the new planes, moving from a mixed Airbus/Boeing fleet to one made solely [...]
ITA Airways
SkyTeam
TLV
Israel
Since when ITA Airways announced the order for the new aircraft, moving from a mixed Airbus/Boeing fleet to one made solely of aircraft from the European manufacturer, my main interest was captured by one model the A321neo. Sure I love the flagship the A350/900, but the little "monster" of the Airbus house is the one Set to revolutionize commercial aviation Of the next 30 years.
The gamble of ITA Airways
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The A321 is not new to the Italian flag carrier's fleet, many examples have flown in Alitalia livery for more than 20 years, but what is different is that these planes will have a premium configuration and not a single cabin as has been the case until now.
This choice is very similar to the one made by Jetblue which uses the same plane to fly from London, Paris and Amsterdam to the East Coast of the United States. From Italy, it is La Compagnie that uses, in All-business configuration the A321neo to connect Milan to New York nonstop.
From Europe, TAP, SAS, and Aer Lingus have also made a similar choice and, taking advantage of the geographical location, use this model to fly to New York and beyond.
The gamble of Altavilla and Lazzerini, who were at the top of the Italian company's, when the 8 A321s were ordered, was to aim for a configuration that would attract a business customer base by offering a different cabin setup from what Air France, Lufthansa and almost all other European carriers have on this model.
Three classes, one real business
The thing I was most looking forward to was the confirmation of the rumors I had gathered in recent months, that is, the configuration of these new planes will be in three classes of service: business, premium economy and economy.
There will be 12 business class seats, with a 1-1 configuration. As many sessions of premium economy divided over 3 rows with four seats each and finally the classic 3-3 setup of the tourist class cabin.
In addition to JetBlue I have also already flown on TAP's A321lr, from Lisbon to Toronto, but ITA aimed even higher by choosing a less dense configuration and offering a product that no other European carrier offers for medium-haul flights.
Of course the chair Will not be as "sexy" as Jetblue's Mint Suite., but the choice to install a real armchair that becomes a bed (or almost) with one passenger per row is something never seen before On a single-aisle plane for an Italian company.
A similar configuration to the one chosen by ITA is found on American Airlines' A321Ts viz. planes he uses to connect the two coasts of the U.S.. Labels aside, the cabin includes a first with one seat on each side, a business configured 2-2 and the classic economy cabin 3-3.
Now all that remains is to know which seats ITA will have chosen for these planes, and I personally look forward to trying them out.
Destination Tel Aviv
Tickets have been on sale for a few days now to fly on this little gem and at the moment the only route where it seems to be scheduled is the connection between Rome and Tel Aviv, which is the most profitable route among the medium-haul destinations in the blue airline's network due to the presence of so many passengers who stop over in Rome from Israel to fly to the U.S. and South America.
Locating the daily flight operated by this aircraft is not difficult, just see if the PE cabin is present since the rest of the routes are served solely with classic A320s configured with a single cabin and where business class is distinguished solely by the center seat left vacant.
It is likely that during October, ITA will announce some changes in the international network since the arrival of the first A321neo units will open up the possibility of flying to destinations that are not served today, such as the Middle East, where a product like this could intercept the interest of many passengers.
To date, however the A321 is scheduled only on Fiumicino Tel Aviv, a route that in peak season is also operated with the A330.
As always, I remind you that companies can change plans, and in the case of a new aircraft a slight delay in delivery could delay entry into operation and in case of car change nothing will be due to the passenger.
