Are you planning a trip to Bangkok or the Maldives with ITA Airways? Will you be flying to 100% aboard the A330neo
Make way for the young, as they say: the old A330-200s of ITA, formerly Alitalia, have their days numbered. During the [...]
Make way for the young, as they say: ITA's old A330-200s, formerly Alitalia's, their days are numbered. During the winter '25, the Italian flag carrier makes known from TTG in Rimini, the 330 affectionately called 'burglar-planes' will be deployed (depending on the rotations) only and exclusively in the Intercontinental routes to North and South America and India.
In this article:
Where the old A330-200s will fly
Specifically, depending on the rotations, it will be possible to fly aboard the 330-200 in the routes to Rio de Janeiro e St. Paul's, Toronto, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (JFK), San Francisco e Washington e New Delhi. As we explained the permanent retirement of these machines Is expected by the end of next year, that is, around October/November 2025-
Connections to Bangkok and the Maldives will be operated only by the new A330neo
In contrast, in connections to/from Bangkok (which will start next November 16) e Malé, ITA means use only the Airbus A330neo: outfitted with 3 classes of service-business (30 seats), premium economy (24) and economy (237)-these aircraft, with an average age of less than a year, are nothing short of new.
Not even in the routes from Rome (FCO) to Buenos Aires e Tokyo (HND) will be flown aboard the 330-200: instead, the aircraft used will be ITA's flagship aircraft, namely the Airbus A350-900. Our national airline currently has 6 of them in its fleet, all configured with 3 cabins: 33 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats and 262 economy seats.
The old business of the A330-200 vs. the new business of the A330neo
As we have written over and over again, the Alitalia's Magnifica class had nothing to envy the most prestigious companies: today, however, the years are beginning to take their toll and is, therefore, the least 'sexy' of ITA's business cabins (nevertheless, it must be said that it is also the only ITA Airways cabin that offers passengers traveling in pairs the opportunity to book honeymoon seats).
Installed in the business class of the A330neo is the Thompson Vantage XL, a very popular seat that we can also find on many other airlines such as Virgin Atlantic, Condor, Delta, Qantas.
This cabin was configured as if it were a Lego: the Italian company's engineers picked out piece by piece and configured everything from colors to finishes to optional extras; the result is a Business cabin (highly valued) that is no match for competitors.
The configuration in business class on the new A330s is alternate, meaning that the best seats are those that give the passenger more privacy and isolation from the aisle. Translated: In the even-numbered rows, the best seats are A and L (window side); in the middle seats of odd-numbered rows, however, the best seat is E, and in even-numbered rows it is G.
Machine change always possible
A necessary clarification. Machine changes for operational reasons can always happen, it happens with all companies and all types of aircraft. Of course it is virtually impossible for Emirates to change from an A380 to a 777, but from Qatar to British, from Lufthansa to Delta, it is always possible that a flight planned with one model will instead be flown with a different one.
The passenger, remember, buys the cabin and not the model of the plane so in case of changing cars there is no refund, just as if you suddenly find out that you are traveling in QSuite there will be no extra charge.