Review: Meridiana Business Class 767 Naples To New York

I've never seen an airplane tomato that looked like it would taste good -- until now

Very enjoyable, a nice report on what looked like a family run airline.

Ben, for your next italian trip you should have a go reviewing Executive class on the high-speed train between Rome and Milan. It's actually the coolest thing we have transport-wise at the moment.

the cake is Pastiera, typical cake from Naples

This looks like business class I travelled in on Gulf Air from Sydney to Cairo in 2005. it was about half the price of everyone else's business, and surprisingly comfortable. At the time full business was way outside our budget, and premium economy wasn't widely available yet- so it was a great option for such a long haul.

OK. The planes are old, but the seats are perfectly serviceable for a daytime flight to the United States from Europe. The seats look comfortable enough for sitting, too.

The food actually looks good. The dinner was kind of elegant. Not super-fancy, but nice -- look at that huge, crisp white linen tablecloth.

loved the review and how you even detailed how far the seat went.

i chuckled at your " I chose the parmigiana, which was reasonably good, though I think it could double as both a drink and a meal based on how oily it was". hahahaha.. i mean, LOL..

too funny:)

Hilary Duff is currently the star of a tv show called "Younger" on TV Land.

Loved your review, also love the attention to detail on who the other passengers were, the tomato, the parmigiana...great review as always!

Ben, did you manage to get any pictures of economy class. From what I can tell, Meridiana is one of the few 767 operators which uses the high density 2-4-2 layouts in economy class.

I flew Meridiana in economy from Naples to JFK only a few weeks after you. The 2-4-2 is tight, but my wife and I are skinny and had the "2" on the left side, so it was fine for us.
Some people looked extremely uncomfortable in the middle tho. We paid for the seat assignment/check-in a few weeks out - well worth it to bypass the check-in line at the airport/just drop bags and to have no neighbors. We were delayed almost 3 hours, but otherwise a perfectly acceptable flight. Crew is great - very pleasant / enthusiastic. Food in coach was fine - choice of chicken or pasta. After a week in a Italy eating pasta, we choose chicken and neither of us got sick. Free wine / water / etc was provided. The crew also emptied one of their water bottles into my personal 1L water bottle (with a smile - no stink eye). We flew them one way for about $350 pp (used miles to fly to Europe). On the way to Naples, we connected in Munich on Lufthansa with a 2 hour layover... while Lufthansa was superior in every way, I will consider Meridiana going forward just for the convenience.

Ben. Hilary Duff in currently acting in the TV show, Younger. It's 4th season just started. Check it out I think you'd like it

Air Italy dba Meridiana ?
I noticed the safety info cards in the seat pocket say Air Italy as does the in-seat entertainment logo....curious about the branding on the flight...

Hmmmm I think you have been quite "kind" in this review. Fair enough that you have focused on the good service and price, plus the food looks okay but this doesn't seem consistent with some harsher reviews that you post. That cabin is just outdated. It's not charming to anyone who doesn't spend their lives in premium cabins. Good pictures as always.

Considering how brutal you were about both the outdated Ukrainian and Ethiopian 767s you are very kind to Meridiana!

This review was a breath of fresh air. Good on them for providing a good flight. Nice amenity kit, itself and Tom and Jerry on the IFE, how can you not like that?

I think the bottom line is that if you are an airline with outdated equipment and stuff, at least try to do the best with the soft stuff like food and blankets and service. A little effort goes a long way and probably costs way less overall.

Thank you for the review. However, why are there no pics of Vesuvius? It's RIGHT THERE when you take off, and you can see the lava slide that buried Pompeii.

What, no fax machine?

You were wise to choose to review Meridian's transatlantic flight in the daytime! My concern would be the aged equipment. Was Meridiana even around when that plane was built, I.e. was that another airline's old equipment? I know 747s have been around and operating for decades but this 767 seems decrepit. How did you feel about that?

Technically speaking that was an Air Italy plane, company acquired by Meridiana years ago.

Thank you, Ben for your thorough review.
Did the amenity kit provide an eyemask?

Warm Regards,
Sheena

Meridiana is the best - u can't compare to the big European airline biz class when price is often 1/3 - and I think way better than their premium economy

Yes the chairs are old and the ife laughable - but the service is consistently eager and fun, the food is usually tasty, the recliners actually comfy and....by far most important

U fly nonstop to Naples from jfk adding a day each way to your southern Italy trip - I can fly wed/thurs night and be in Capri for breakfast and fly back mon morning and be on ground midday NYC - legacy carrier I arrive capri and New York late afternoon

Thanks for the article, we are flying Meridiana Business Class to Palermo next month, because I wanted a direct flight, and we live in NYC. We try to fly first or business, because we bigger and taller than the average person and like the extra room. We had no idea on how Meridiana did it, and although we heard snickers about flying them, all I could ever find were pictures of the seats. My father in law used to fly coach on Meridiana and he was tall and thin and just fit in them comfortably. We are not snobby first/business class people so its nice to read that we will be comfortable flying.

Hi Ben...

As usual, a very nice touch of review. Since Qatar Airways already succesfully invest 49% in Meridiana, im very sure they will have flat beds, Cabin crew new uniforms and of course new fleet as promise by QA CEO B787 or A330 also B737Max. Maybe can check this out, hopefully it is true...
https//www.behance.net/gallery/46369503/Meridiana-New-Livery-Brand