Review: Alitalia A330 Magnifica Class (Business Class) Rome to Boston

Think your airport code for Boston is incorrect. You have Rome's code twice. Love your blog!

I flew this style of seats on Thai A380 and the honeymoon seats are actually the popular ones. I overheard the flight attendant apologized to the couple seated in the separated center section but wished to be moved to the honeymoon seats that there are only a handful of honeymoon seats and they are snugged well in advance.

Also on ANA 777-300ER, the foot cubbie is so ginormous that they allow you to store your rollerboard there.

Thanks for the review!

Lucky, is this staggered seating system (the same as Emirates, Etihad, and Thai) better than the one on Austrian and Brussels? Then you have Swiss, which seems like a hybrid of the 2...

Lucky;
Was the blanket and pillow also Frette?

I think you meant BOS instead of FCO. Just a thought.

Not sure if this was somewhere in the post, however I think it is worth noting that these are same seats that Etihad uses on their A340s and 77Ws in business class.

Wow, big upgrades in just a few months. I flew AZ in Biz FCO-LAX in October and the amentiy kit was just plastic wrapped items and service was terrible. Seems as though this was a much better experience. Here is my review of FCO-LAX on the B777 You can see the difference yourself

The honeymoon seats on this variant of the seat are at least better than the "first-generation" version that Etihad originally had (and I think still has on some A340s, probably the A345s). In that version all of the seats were facing perfectly straight forward and were the same width, when sleeping, from head to foot, which made them very cramped at the shoulder level and especially cramped in the center pair of seats. This second-generation version, which EY has on its 777s and some other aircraft, has the seats at a slight angle with the foot area narrower than the seat and the honeymoon seats angled slightly toward each other, which opens up quite a lot more space in the honeymoon seats.

Wow...9hrs+ from FCO to BOS is nuts. Must have been insane head winds.

@ alastairdeacon -- Thank you, fixed!

@ wwk5d -- Yes, I'd say this is definitely a superior hard product to the staggered business class with the restrictive foot "cubby."

@ Rami -- It wasn't marked as such.

Thanks for the review. I have a flight scheduled in alitalia business later this month so this review is quite timely for me.

Lucky -- did you get a sense of how the seat would be for sleeping? I am looking at a transatlantic trip, and my choices for the TATL leg are either AA in F (old 777)or IB in C. I believe IB's new C product is exactly the same as the Alitalia product reviewed here. If sleeping were your key criteria, which would you prefer? It's Eastbound and both are about 8-9 hours. On Eastbound TATL, I like a snack, a drink, and then as much sleep as I can get. Would you rather sleep in the Alitalia seat or an old-style AA 777 Flagship seat?

(I value Avios less than AA, but I have other segments that IB charges separately for, and taxes are higher using Avios. Assume the cost is about the same).

@ Lucky — Delta or Alitalia across the pond?

@ Larry -- This is a top notch business class product for sleeping. The seat was spacious and I found there to be plenty of room for my feet, which was nice.

However, American's old 777 first class is definitely a bit more spacious, so if sleeping is most important I'd go with that. But it's not *that* much better either.

After reading all your trip reviews, I only have one question..How do you stay slim? I would be a gaint 50 inch waist if I travelled as much as you! LOL

@ JRL -- Definitely Alitalia for the superior hard product (unless it was Delta with a reverse herringbone configuration, which I don't think they fly to Europe yet).

@ Lucky - I forget, did you ever file a report about missing jeans? Curious if it'd be something compensated by the airline or travel insurance. Insurance has baggage protection but would clothes be part it of it...?

@ Ivan Y -- Hah, good question. Didn't actually file anything, but would be interesting to see response!

@ Lucky - may be too late to file a claim but, purely as an experiment, you should tweet them. Perhaps something like this: "Someone left me without pants on @alitalia flight. @alitalia, I'd like my jeans back!"

Hi Ben,

I was surprised you had such a laid back attitude about an apparent theft of your belongings. Have you ever been a victim of this before? Do you ever get concerned about theft of something more valuable? Every now and then you read about FAs or others rifling through bags on board for valuables. Any words of advice?

@ Craig -- To be honest it's not something I ever gave any thought to, since I had never had it happen. I might have just been exhausted and left it somewhere or done something stupid, so not going to read too much into it. If jeans are the worst thing I lose in millions of miles of travel, I'll consider myself lucky!

SO if you had the choice for transatlantic flights, Lucky...Virgin or Alitalia?

Found a post on Instagram then this blog- great to read! Btw it is blood orange juice I am assuming ! Not red

@ wwk5d -- Assuming the Virgin flight is from an airport with a Clubhouse I'd choose Virgin, I think.

You didn't have anything of value in the pocket(s) of your jeans? That might have freaked me out more.

@ Amol -- Nope, I always take everything out of the pockets.

@ Lucky — Most of Delta's A330s have been reconfigured into a reverse herringbone arrangement, and the last few will be completed by this summer. There are a fair number of transatlantic flights served with this equipment, as well as a handful of flights operated on 777s with the older herringbone layout.

@Lucky- im thinking about booking a flight on alitalia a330 buisness class from rome non stop to miami which is convienant for us. But ive read horrible reviews about alitlia also read about them possibly going out of buisness. Now i am very worried , wondering about there saftey of the airline as well. Whats your oppinion on this? should i just book it?

@ Suzy rodriguez -- I really enjoyed them and wouldn't hesitate to book them or fly with them again.

@Lucky- Thank you i was a bit concerned especially adter reading so much of them possibly going out of buisness hopefully nothing like that will happen from now until my trip based on your review there buisness class looks quite nice

@Lucky- Do you remember how strict they were with carry on luggage? We want to try our best to ot have to check in any luggage

@ Suzy rodriguez -- My bag was fairly large and they didn't give me any trouble.

Just catching up on some old posts. ....I have had a tablet and some headphones stolen from me, the tablet in first and the headphones in business. My travel insurance did cover them. The seating looks exactly like the new business seating on Air Berlin. Comments about Etihad would be on the mark because the Air Berlin seats are Etihad. We found the honeymoon seats to be horrid and actually got them changed before takeoff. There wasn't even an armrest separating them as I remember. The window seats are quite private but very narrow with very little foot space. Everything else was exactly the same as your pictures. The old Air Berlin business class was actually much more comfortable.

Lucky, the SeatGuru seatmap shows that Saudi Arabian A320 has one exit door, and they fly no A319.
Just a minor fix.

Nowhere in this review do you discuss whether one could sleep comfortably, and how the seats recline. I've flown 16 hours from JFK to Johannesburg on South African Airways, but my flight would be LAX to Rome, 12 hours. Please let me know. Thanks for your thorough review!

@ Sarah -- Yes, it reclines fully flat and was very comfortable for sleeping. If you can, be sure to snag one of the "true" window seats closest to the window, as they're the most comfortable.

Hi there, we are looking to book etihad for next August and will fly Alitalia from Abu Dhabi to rome. Just wanting to know if they served any actual champagne not that prosceco stuff .
Thanks

@ Caro -- Typically Prosecco, which makes sense for an Italian airline, I suppose.

Lucky - do you recommend a particular row for the "honeymoon" seats? I will be flying JFK-FCO for my honeymoon and wondering if we should get row 1, 3 or 5?

@ j -- I'd probably do row three so you're far from the galley/bathrooms.

Perhaps not all that surprising Lucky, being the famous First globetrotting celeb that you are, that someone tried to get into your jeans (although admittedly this usually occurs while you are still in them lol). Very lucky you didn't have to wander off in your PJs.

I am booking a flight from LAX to Athens. I have a choice between Air France and Alitalia in Business class. Based on your extended flight experience, what would you choose?

@ Lehman -- Alitalia, hands down!

Thanks for the great info.
Booking a MagnificA class from toronto to rome

I just booked a flight on Alitalia from JFK to Milan on an A330. I am in row 1C which I'm guessing is a honeymoon seat. I am flying solo and after reading your comments, I'm concerned it might be a bit too cozy seated next to a stranger. I'm trying to get a window seat, but they've all been assigned. Maybe one will free up. In the meantime, what are your thoughts on sitting in a honeymoon seat next to a stranger? Or should I move back a row?

Lucky -- Really appreciate all your information about the Alitalia business class. I plan to fly this from NYC to Rome, and am wondering about two things:
1. Would you say seat 2A is equal to seat 4A?; and
2. Can you confirm if the business lounges have recently been upgraded, at least at JFK?

Thank you so much! Mary

If I was on a flight and anything was stolen from me I would definitely (not practible)insist that everyone on that plane be searched surely someone must have seen something, I would never fly any airline that would let this happen to their customers

Does anyone have any knowledge of whether Alitalia has maintained the standard that Lucky was content with or does their service mirror the horrible nasty standard Alitalia's telephone customer service reps manage to offer...?

I love Alitalia’s pastaaaaaaa and now it has significantly improved. It has the same seat disposition but they changed a few things, and the cabin design.
I have flown to Brazil on that plane and I had an amazing experience.