Review Runway lounge Milan Linate: here is the new "home" for ITA Airways frequent flyers (and more)

This morning I had the opportunity to visit, for the first time as a passenger, ITA Airways' new runway lounge, or the new waiting room for passengers departing from Milan Linate.

It was not my first vote inside this lounge. since I had been invited to the opening. I had already appreciated the style, I had already told about the special features of this hall, what I had not seen for sure was the hall in operation, which instead I had the opportunity finally today to do about twenty days after the opening.

Location

The location is the usual, did not move to where the Alitalia house was., where it has been the ITA Airways lounge since, the company that took over from Alitalia, reopened it in 2021 and where it has always remained until the closure for renovation work and extension.

Access

The rules of entry are the usual, with the only difference being that now the Miles&More world is also fully integrated.

This means that in addition to, ITA Airways business class passengers with a Volare status and Holders of ITA Airways American Express Platinum Card Passengers departing with Lufthansa Group with a Senator status also have the opportunity to access this lounge,

At present, however, Star Alliance cards are still not recognized. ITA Airways being still far from official entry into the new alliance.

The lounge

The lounge is one large space, an area for senators has not been created An even more exclusive area for the HON Circle who will sooner or later start attending Linate with this status and are always treated with kid gloves.

The lounge is definitely beautiful, a remarkable step forward in terms of aesthetics, welcoming, "warmth" with the guaranteed view and natural light that it has always had.

The style is reminiscent of the Fiumicino Hangar, but some defects that were and still are there in the Fiumicino hall were also solved here.

The large central hall is beautiful, bright, could probably accommodate a few more sessions as well. The summer season, but in particular the increase in traffic related to the access of all Lufthansa Group passengers, will lead to a significantly higher daily inflow than it was in the past.

This entire area has no power outlets, unless you sit in a chair near the stools that have an outlet at the base.

The central part of the room is set up with armchairs, a kind of lounge with individual seating, again a slightly odd choice because if you are traveling in pairs you have to either move a chair or sit at the high table in the buffet area.

Impossible not to notice the fuselage of the blue Savoie plane. parked in the center of the hall, as impossible not to notice that the bum was heard.

The ITA Airways inscription has been moved. The day of the ribbon cutting was in the front area of the fuselage, as on airplanes. It is now in the back area, the one closest to the window, the one certainly where it is easiest to take a selfie to share on social media to let everyone know you are about to leave.

The fuselage has not only an aesthetic role but also a functional one. It divides the second section of the lounge, here it is where the Michelangelo restaurant used to be and is the area that is the subject of the expansion from the previous lounge, here, however, in my opinion an error of at least half a meter if not one meter was made

The central aisle is the least successful thing about this lounge. It is too small to be occupied with other seating and too large to be functional for this space, so it basically you could have widened the main hall by at least a good meter without affecting the success of this business area. Beautiful seating, functional work cages, here the mistake was not made as in Fiumicino, of leaving them open above and below, but you are really isolated, so you are protected from the prying ears of neighbors.

Very nice porthole solution, Some window and other screens that broadcast clouds and sky according to the time of day In which you visit the hall.

There are also some furniture elements present in the hangar lounge namely the high-shell chairs where you have a little more isolation from the rest of the lounge, and then the iconic lights found in the Fiumicino lounge, Hopefully, they are not as delicate.

Food & Beverage

Completely renovated the buffet section as well, the presence of the kitchen makes it possible to offer freshly prepared products and not simply reheated. Too bad, however, that the menu is the same as in Rome, or perhaps it would be better to say that it is the dishes that rotate between the two lounges.

Note that there is no refrigerator to get a water bottle or anything else independently, like at FCO's T1, so one must always go from serving to drinking.

The bad news is that pizza is only offered in the afternoon, as in the lounge at T3 Fiumicino, here there is an oven for pizzas and more, but it is only served between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. so let's say aperitif/dinner time.

In conclusion

Beautiful, but badly divided spaces. Elegant, but some of the choices were not smart, and I am curious to see if there will be adjustments down the road.

The verdict

Beautiful, definitely better than the previous one and with the right identity. The fuselage in the center of the room, though poorly placed, is worth half a point more, and having listened to the bum and moved the logo to the tail gives another 50 cents in the final rating.

8

Rated Location

7.5

F&B

7

Services

7

Pro

• The fuselage
• Environment
• Business zone

Against

• Pizza only in the evening
• Few power outlets in the main hall
• Wasted space in the business area