ITA Airways, new Fiumicino lounge to open (maybe) by year-end. Buffer solution soon
Cold shower for all frequent flyers of Volare, ITA Airways' loyalty program, and business passengers of the [...]
ITA Airways
SkyTeam
Cold shower for all frequent flyers of Volare, the loyalty program of ITA Airways, and business passengers of the Italian flag carrier. The new lounge in Terminal 1, Pier A, the one recently opened and where all Schengen flights depart from, will not be open until the end of the year. Word from Giovanni Perosino, chief marketing officer of ITA Airways.
The current situation
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From the day after the opening of the new Pier A was restored to document control for access to Pier E, or Terminal 3. This effectively restored access to theITA Airways' only lounge only to passengers on flights to non-Schengen destinations, leaving all others, that is, ITA's domestic and international passengers, without a waiting room.
The carrier ran for cover, almost immediately, launching a restorative promo First until the end of May and then the end of June. What is new is that, unlike what one might have imagined. Within the next two weeks there will be no new lounge, but simply a buffer solution will be identified.
The cold shower comes right from Perosino, CMO of ITA Airways, who confirmed to TFC that the company is working on a bridging solution, but that the new lounge will not arrive until the end of the year.
The new lounge
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Alitalia had two lounges in Terminal 1. One was outside, in the area of the T1 check-in desks; the other was near the other halls mentioned above and until now closed and dismantled.
"We will be the only lounge present in Pier A," says Perosino, "we will have the privilege, also being Fiumicino our home, of being present in Pier A with a very prestigious space. However, these operations last a few months, so our hope is to be operational by the end of the year. In the meantime, we are working on a temporary solution by the end of June that will allow us to accommodate all our customers while waiting for the new lounge to open."
Probably when ITA says there are no lounges in Pier A. means the new part. The new waiting room for the Italian company will be built, in my opinion, in the area above the commercial area, which as of today is still partially a construction site, or alternatively, in the area that currently houses only Eataly and which is also still under construction.
Buffer solution, reopens old Alitalia House
ITA Airways has repeatedly reiterated that there are currently no operational lounges in Terminal 1. Which is not true since they are open the Star Alliance and the Prima Vista. All lounges near the former Alitalia House "Piazza Venezia."
Buffer solution, we just heard from ITA Airways, it will be the temporary reopening of the old Alitalia lounge, while waiting for the construction of the new one to be completed. Of course, it will not be a big lounge, it will have less than 100 seats, but it is definitely a fair buffer activity.
If you are coming from a long-haul flight, my advice is to go to the lounge in terminal 3 And wait here before boarding. Always keeping well in mind the time it takes to get through T1 after border control.
Skyteam Privileges
There is much confusion about the provision of SkyTeam privileges by ITA management, or perhaps simply lack of clarity. "All SkyTeam passengers can take advantage of their benefits when they fly ITA and vice versa," this is Perosino's statement. However, we know full well that to date not so: since Volare status is not recognized from practically no company, ITA flights cannot be credited to other companies' programs, and vice versa.
All this while Deadline for deciding whether to stay or terminate the Italian carrier's participation in the SkyTeam alliance draws ever closer. Much will depend on the outcome of the negotiations for the sale of the majority stake. What is certain is that for ITA to abandon the alliance with Air France, KLM, Delta and the other carriers will be a real restart, since Alitalia has also only ever been part of ST.
