Frank Zappa famously said «every major industrialized nation has A BEER (you can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline».

Well, Italy really took this piece of advice very seriously. While they do have some damn good beers (my favorite one is Sardinia’s Ichnusa), the airline theme was always a problem.

You know the story: Alitalia always lost money, but it was definitely a brand that was instantly associated with its home country, and you cannot say their branding/livery was not badass.

Anyway, long story short, COVID came and in October 2021 Alitalia went bust and was replaced by ITA Airways, a State-owned company without all the debts and costs its predecessor had, but with pretty much the same business model.

While the largest European Union economies all have their respective legacy carriers with large hubs and connections everywhere, Italy faces a problem. It does have two major metropolitan centers – Milan and Rome.

Many argue Alitalia should have been based in the former as it has a larger economy and could therefore bring better yields. However, its international airport, Malpensa, is really far from the city center – as I explained in a trip report some time ago. With that, the company used Rome/Fiumicino as its hub (which is not close to Rome either).

And so is doing ITA – which doesn’t mean it completely ignores the Milan market. While the airline plans to operate Malpensa-New York, for short-haul connections the company uses the secondary airport of Linate, way closer to downtown.

In fact, half of ITA’s revenue, according to a report by Corriere della Sera’s Leonard Berberi, derived from flights from and to Linate, which goes to show the importance the company gives to the central airport and is a central point of Alitalia’s «inheritance» to ITA.

Anyway, I already spent 300 words giving you some background on my flight. Now let’s get into it.

ITA’s «Superior» class

You’re wondering why ITA relies on Linate for its flights in and out the richest city of its home country; the two other airports that serve the area, Malpensa and Bergamo, are really far away from the city center.

This, together with a high slot limitation in the airfield, basically shielded Alitalia (and now ITA) from the ultra low costs carriers, while also putting Linate as a better option for the high-yielding corporate traveller.

Yes, easyJet, Volotea and Wizz do operate in the central airport, but the footprint of the ULCCs – 596 departures in February, according to Cirium’s Diio Mi application – is a fraction of what it is in Malpensa – 2367, including Ryanair – and Bergamo – 2572.

When you think of this corporate passenger focus, it was not really a surprise when, late last year, ITA announced another measure to lure this customer as it launched its «Superior» class in domestic flights. Having a premium product within the country is something that Alitalia didn’t do.

Essentially, the idea is having the best onboard product from the closest airport to town (Linate) directed towards customers who fly for business or who just don’t mind paying a little more.

So my goal that day was trying out this product to see if it was good value for money.

Tickets were bought two days in advance directly from ITA’s website, which was surprisingly fautless.

The price? EUR201.98 the one-way ticket – the same flight on Economy was on sale for EUR106.98, in the most restrictive fare.

As a comparison, the night before – see below – tickets at Ryanair were being sold from EUR51.70 – from Malpensa, with the most expensive fare in that flight costing an additional EUR83.64.

Check-in was made in ITA’s mobile app, which much to my surprise was also seamless.

ITY1715 LIN-CTA

I arrived in Milan through the Lampugnano bus station a little before the metro started and jumped off at the Duomo station. This was my view after hopping off the station. Italy is always stunning.

A five-minute walk to a bus station followed, where I took the line to Linate which was covered in around 15 or 20 minutes. A stark contrast with Malpensa, where the train from the Central station takes 50 minutes.

The bus was empty given the time and the season, but was clean, comfortable and fast.

It dropped me off in front of Linate’s arrivals area, so there was a quick walk to the departures floor.

It really was a quiet Sunday morning in Milan’s central airport, but I really liked the building, which looked quite modern.

Anyway, I went to the check-in counter to confirm my documents were all right and to print the boarding pass, as I like to have them. There was no line and the agent, who was polite, confirmed I could wait for my flight in the VIP lounge.

Safety screening took no time and in two minutes I was airside, although the walk to the gates was quite long (not nearly as long as in Malpensa at least).

Overall, though, I had a really good impression of Linate – it’s definitely my favorite of the three that serve the Milano area.

In Linate and in Fiumicino, ITA offers a lounge – inherited from Alitalia – for passengers with Business/Superior class tickets and for elite customers of ITA’s «Volare» frequent flyer program, the levels of which will be rolled out at the end of February only.

It was a ghost lounge really. Over the three hours I stayed there, I was practically always the only passenger there, which made the experience way better of course.

And the view from the window was great as well. I could even spot the first take-off from Linate of ITA’s maiden A319 in their new colors.

Anyway, there was a buffet and a bar in the lounge, although – I guess because of COVID – an employee brought it to the passengers.

The selection was quite okay for the time of the day, and in the end I picked a plate of cold cuts along with a coffee.

Drink options were also very good, although I was there for work so I stayed with my americano…

There were not many flights that day as you can see, but even so, the «AZ» code remains a major presence – 28 of the 54 you see below.

Because ITA is now a Skyteam member, I think Elite members also had access to the lounge. Moreover, close to the gates there was also a British Airways lounge, which is remarkable given the small presence of IAG airlines in Linate (only four of the flights below).

ITA also offered, in partnership with PressReader, a virtual magazine reader, full of newspapers from around the world. For me nothing will ever replace the printed experience, but it was a cool option nevertheless, now that everyone has a mobile device – I think other legacy carriers do the same by the way.

An hour before the flight, I walked to the gate, which was quite close to the lounge.

Fortunately for the passengers (not for the airline), there were really few passengers near the gate, which indicated a low load factor. The gate agent confirmed my impression, saying there would be «sessentina» (sixty-ish) passengers onboard that day, which meant a load factor below 50%.

So there was not really a rush for boarding; priorities were respected, although we’d board in a remote position, which meant we’d all go in the same bus.

And there we went. The bus was packed so they could do a single trip… not good and something we’ve seen way too much in COVID times.

But I still love remote boarding – it’s always a fun experience for us aviation enthusiasts.

Aaaaaaaaand there was our ride for the day.

According to the fantastic website «AZ Fleet», EI-IMM is an Alitalia road warrior, as is most of ITA’s fleet. It was originally delivered to the Italian airline in June 2011, brand new. Its last flight with Italy’s late flag carrier was AZ721 between Athens and Rome in September 23, 2021, then going into maintenance services.

With the transition into ITA, which started its flights in October 15, 2021, its first flight for the new operator was AZ2016 between Rome and Linate, in October 27 of the same month.

This brand… pure class.

In case you have missed it by the way, there’s a new airline in the block. A small sticker indicated that (although ITA retains the property of the Alitalia brand).

If outside, its colors don’t deny from where Mike Mike, named «Vittorio Alfieri», was from, inside they didn’t either.

I don’t like this interior very much, to be fair. The seats are on average with the industry, but you feel that it’s missing the adjustable headrest.

At least in «Superior» class the middle seat is blocked, in the best eurobusiness tradition.

I was in the first row, so legroom was plenty.

Alitalia was everywhere you looked and even the flight attendants wore Alitalia uniforms – I thought they had changed it…

Anyway, no welcome drinks or even a «ciao» from the purser. In theory, the passenger in this class is the airline’s high-paying customer, one to be even more taken care of, as an important source of revenue to the company.

This higher attention is a detail that does not cost a dime to the airline. I don’t really care about it, but it would show that the airline is customer-focused. Of course I don’t blame the crew (in all interactions I had with the flight attendant, she was really nice), but it’s something that’s up to the airline to decide.

The load was really light. In Superior class, it was only me and another guy in another row occupying the three rows (therefore two of the twelve seats, only 16.6%, were occupied).

Then it’s no wonder why the flight left on time. At 11h32, IMM rocketed out of Linate.

The flight proceeded really smoothly and sights were beautiful as usual.

As usual in Europe that was the best inflight entertainment, although I had brought a book and downloaded some reads from PressReader.

Then onboard service started. I was looking forward to see what they would offer.

To drink, soft drinks and coffee; to eat, a «salty» or «sweet» snack.

Disappointing? It depends on the way you look at it. Yes, there was plenty of (good) food in the lounge and yes, this is basically what Delta, ITA’s partner, offers in domestic flights of similar lenght; with that said, I can’t lie that a passenger that pays EUR200 would expect a little bit more.

I mean, of course I don’t expect a full course to be served, but it wouldn’t cost much for the airline to hand an actual glass and an actual cup of coffee, for instance, although I appreciate that they handed a full can of Coke.

As a comparison, a combo composed of a hot sandwich (which I love), a snack and a soft drink would cost, onboard Ryanair, EUR9 if you buy in advance. On Vueling (more on that in our next trip report), a similar deal costs EUR10.50 onboard the plane.

To seal the deal, the FA then offered us a small bottle of «premium» (AKA overpriced) water, which I found a nice touch and, again, one that doesn’t cost much.

So that was it for the flight. I later asked for another round of coffee, which was promptly brought.

The flight proceeded smoothly and I kept reading. Eventually I got up to see the lavatory.

Naturally it was clean, given the low usage.

And more Alitalia signs there.

IMM was cruising at 35,000 feet, and the route took it just over Rome, then over the Tyrrhenian Sea.

At 12h34, ITA 1715 started its descent into Catania: the views from the window were just great, including Sicily’s crystal blue shore and the Mount Etna, which had some smoke coming off of it that afternoon.

Likely for traffic reasons, on its long final IMM did a pattern before returning to the approach path. The pilots made a smooth landing in Catania’s 08 runway at 13h03, the light A319 finding no difficulties to slow down.

Deboarding, as was boarding, was again performed in a remote position, and again the bus was packed in order to allow for a single trip.

Again, as an enthusiast I very much appreciate those opportunities, but as a passenger not so much, especially when you see aircraft of low-cost airlines like easyJet and Volotea using the boarding bridges, as I saw in that trip.

I waved goodbye at IMM for this safe trip. The aircraft would depart at 14h05 back to Linate.

And the sight that welcomed us at Sicily’s largest terminal was one very familiar; not only familiar but also symptomatic of Alitalia’s – and now ITA’s – sufferings in the short-haul market.

Final Remarks

I left this flight with mixed feelings regarding the value-for-money proposition of ITA’s «Superior» class.

If you are leaving from downtown Milan and convenience is what you’re searching for, then definitely go for ITA, as they fly out of Linate (Malpensa and Bergamo are quite far).

But then again, if Linate may be well worth it, is ITA’s Superior class worth paying more? The flight cost (about EUR200) cost around EUR80 more than the most restrictive Economy fare. This, which only includes one hand luggage, is not refundable; the most flexible Economy ticket was on sale for around EUR180, so a premium of merely EUR20.

So considering this, I’d definitely have paid that EUR20 fare difference if I had to pick Linate. Tickets bought in advance can be found with the same gap.

Now if I have time to spare and can book in advance, Ryanair is still (in their «Flexi Plus» fare, a premium-centered bundle) cheaper, albeit from Malpensa or Bergamo. The Flexi Plus fare is generally for sale at EUR85 more than the lowest fare. With fares from as little as EUR4.99 in the Milan-Catania segment, that wouldn’t be at all a bad idea.

In any case, had I taken a «Flexi Plus» Ryanair ticket or a «Superior» ITA fare, the benefits from one to the other are not that clear, besides from the fact that ITA offers a VIP lounge. Catering was bad – since at a cost of EUR9 at Ryanair I would’ve gotten a good meal – and in any case very subpar if we compare it to what some major carriers, like British Airways, offer in the front cabin.

I’m not asking ITA to offer lobster and caviar in Superior class (thought that’d be cool), but it would at least show some care about their premium passengers. For example, offering actual coffee cups or a welcome drink in an actual glass wouldn’t cost much and makes the experience more competitive and pleasant. But since I paid EUR20 more than an Economy passenger would have, I don’t have much to complain…

Apart from that, all things considered I enjoyed flying ITA. If the price is right and I need to go somewhere in Europe I might consider going with them and, as long as the price is right (going Business was available for EUR20 more), I might as well hop on their «Superior» class, which might not be as faithful as its name would suggest, but make the travel experience much more fun, with the fast track and VIP lounge access.