ITA Airways, the national airline of Italy (and soon a Lufthansa Group airline), has just taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-900neo. This marks an exciting new chapter for the airline, as these planes have all new interiors specifically designed for the airline.
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ITA Airways has 17 Airbus A330-900neos on order
ITA Airways has a total of 17 Airbus A330-900neos on order, which should eventually become the backbone of the carrier’s long haul fleet. ITA’s long haul fleet otherwise consists of eight A350-900s and eight A330-200s. The plan is for the previous generation A330s to be retired by 2025, meaning at that point ITA’s long haul fleet will consist of latest generation A350s and A330s.
This week, ITA took delivery of its very first A330-900neo, which is a major milestone for the airline. The plan is for all 17 aircraft to join ITA Airways’ fleet by the end of 2027. The first A330-900neo should enter passenger service as of early June, flying between Rome (FCO) and New York (JFK).
For what it’s worth, 10 of these aircraft have been acquired directly from Airbus, while seven have been leased from Air Lease Corporation. The A330-900neo looks pretty snazzy in ITA Airways’ livery, and for that matter, this will be the first Lufthansa Group airline to start flying the A330-900neo.
ITA Airways’ Airbus A330-900neo cabins
What should passengers expect from the cabins of ITA Airways’ A330-900neos? One cool thing is that these cabins were actually designed for ITA Airways, unlike the ones on the A350-900s, as those aircraft were initially intended for Hainan Airlines, and the same interiors were maintained.
ITA Airways’ A330-900neos feature a total of 291 seats, spread across three cabins. Let’s take a look at the details.
ITA Airways’ A330-900neo business class
ITA’s Airbus A330-900neos feature a total of 30 business class seats, in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration. Specifically, the airline chose the popular Thompson Vantage XL product, featuring beige and blue leather. Each seat has a fully flat bed, a 17.3″ personal television, charging ports, and Bluetooth audio.
ITA Airways’ A330-900neo premium economy
Airbus A330-900neos feature a total of 24 premium economy seats, in a 2-3-2 configuration. Specifically, the airline chose the Safran Z535i seats, featuring a generous 40″ of pitch. Each seat has ample recline, a 15.6″ personal television, charging ports, and Bluetooth audio.
It’s interesting to note that while ITA’s A330-300s feature premium economy, the company’s A350-900s don’t. Presumably that’s simply because the airline inherited interiors from Hainan Airlines. I’m curious if the airline plans to eventually retrofit A350s with premium economy, or if the airline will only have this product on certain aircraft (I imagine the former will be the case). I have to say, this premium economy cabin looks pretty exceptional to me.
ITA Airways’ A330-900neo economy
Airbus A330-900neos feature a total of 237 economy seats, in a 2-4-2 configuration. Specifically, the airline chose the Safran Z400 seats, featuring 31″ of pitch. Each seat has a 13.3″ personal television and Bluetooth audio. Furthermore, the first several rows of the cabin feature an extra 3″ of legroom, known as “Comfort Economy.”
Bottom line
ITA Airways has taken delivery of its first of 17 Airbus A330-900neos, with the remaining jets expected to join the carrier’s fleet through 2027. These planes have beautiful interiors, and are in a three cabin layout. ITA Airways has a new business class on this aircraft, and also has premium economy, so it’s exciting to see that cabin live on at ITA.
I can’t wait to fly with ITA’s A330-900neo… hopefully using Star Alliance miles, soon!
What do you make of ITA Airways’ new A330-900neos?
A330the is not the new aircraft -- the older style Alitalia plane. My flight Rome to JFK just changed from the new to the old style.
We leave in one week, JFK to MXP. Our tickets say airbus 330, does that mean it will be a NEW aircraft? Many thanks
Can anyone give me confirmation that on the A330-900Neo aircraft, the business class seats actually recline 180° thus turning into a real bed? Thank you.
very nice interiors. The food is delicious and the flight assistant uniforms are by top fashion designer Brunello Cucinelli.
It's pretty nice there is a little privacy shield for aisle adjacent seats
These certainly look lovely, but I agree with another commenter that the cream-colored seats will definitely show dirt and stains quickly and more easily than a darker fabric.
Also, I would love to know what the seat widths will be. Pitch is nice to know, but the width of the seat is also key to comfort. Flying ITA from JFK to FCO in November was fairly uncomfortable with narrow seats.
Lastly, I would...
These certainly look lovely, but I agree with another commenter that the cream-colored seats will definitely show dirt and stains quickly and more easily than a darker fabric.
Also, I would love to know what the seat widths will be. Pitch is nice to know, but the width of the seat is also key to comfort. Flying ITA from JFK to FCO in November was fairly uncomfortable with narrow seats.
Lastly, I would love to know if the arm rests actually go all the way up in between seats. The flight in November inexplicably had the armrests only going up halfway. A safety hazard, and super uncomfortable.
What a beautiful business class seat, I love the modern style and Italian theme. I can’t wait to fly it, with proper space from my feet unlike the window facing seats! Hope they will upgrade the A350s with these seats
So nothing revolutionary in business class...just a fancy, stylish, non-suite staggered seat.
Can the Alitalia brand and livery please come back? I miss it. This “ITA” thing still looks kind of dumb to me. I had the impression that it would be a temporary placeholder until they regained the rights to the Alitalia brand.
Flew them JFK-FCO-ATH last fall: several of the shorthaul aircraft, the tickets, and some of the interior appointments still had Alitalia colors and branding all over them. They don't seem in any rush to give up a lot of aspects of the old branding.
Ita retains the Alitalia brand rights and they clearly want to reuse it in the future, but not before 2-3 years or even more. Maybe Alitalia could be used for transatlantic flights (South and North America are the main target for Ita in the future) while using Ita for european and domestic flights, cause the brand Alitalia is hated by italians for all the mismanagements during the last 40 years.
Those cabins are beautiful!
The IFE in Economy is very large. I think they are the same size to the size of Emirates' Economy Class IFE screen.
Flew AZ (ITA) from JFK to FCO on the A350 a few weeks ago. Those cream and white colored seats are a really bad choice. They don't hide dirt and scratch marks.
The cabin looks absolutely beautiful. The colors that were used are soft and comforting. Nice to see a simple but beautiful cabin design.
Is this an Ultra Low-Cost carrier ?
No
What looks low cost about this. Maybe you are blind haha
no!!! Absolutely no. It is the new Alitalia, it 80s it was one of the first three carrier in Europe. It was the first all jet fleet in Europe!
I looooove what i'm seeing! Something very elegant about that business class cabin. Can't wait for ITA to join Miles & More so i can book using my miles! Well done ITA!
Alitalia did have premium economy (at least on their A330s, not sure about their 777s), did those planes not transfer over to ITA?
They did, but they plan on replacing all the widebodies in the next couple years.
The cabin looks great- especially the Premium Economy. I do have to say that it’s sad that we’re now describing 31” of coach pitch as ‘generous’.