Review Air Dolomiti flight from Malpensa to Munich

This was my first experience aboard an Air Dolomiti Embraer, indeed it was my first ever flight with this company.

Although I often fly from Genoa when LH flight to Germani, I prefer to depart from Nice, the distance from my home is more or less the same, but the choice of times and possible repurposing is not comparable.

Reservation

This is a paid ticket, an approach flight to...Tokyo. An approach flight is one that allows you to reach the airport from which you depart for your "long-haul" destination, having to embark in Japan for My experience of 7 firsts with Emirates, I found this solution, the cheapest, since it is a multi-track itinerary with outbound on Tokyo Haneda and return from Bangkok.

The total price of the reservation was just under 1,000 euros, in super economy. I didn't worry about anything having Star Alliance gold status thanks to my Singapore Airlines Krisflyer card, even though I ended up with significantly fewer benefits than I had hoped for.

At the airport

Air Dolomiti is controlled by Lufthansa and so I expected to travel as I would aboard Lufthansa. That something wasn't quite right I found out by checking in online: on the virtual boarding pass I didn't have Priority written, and my status was also entered differently than on the flight from Munich to Tokyo.

At check-in everything was normal, I did it at the business counters and no one had any complaints. Ditto my suitcase was tagged priority. If you like my new suitcases I suggest you take advantage of the discount code TFC10 to get the 10% and browse the Level8 store.

The first surprise I had was. At the entrance to the Lufthansa lounge.. No access for Star Alliance Gold members traveling on an Air Dolomiti economy ticket.

Nothing strange: it says so on Air Dolomiti's website as well. (obviously I did not know this). Access allowed, however, using American Express Platinum (remember to have it in physical form, the digital one does not count).

Second surprise, but again I should have known, no priority boarding for passengers not traveling in biz or lacking Miles&More status. So boarding in group 3.

On board

Fortunately, group boarding allowed me to board immediately after priority passengers: I write fortunately because Air Dolomiti's E195 was full at 100%.

The cabin on these planes is always configured 2-2...

Space on board small planes such as the E190 is much more generous than on the classic A320/B737. Sure, the plane is smaller, but for flights of up to a couple of hours they are better than those configured model anchovy cans. The chair is slim, but comfortable. It is not too stiff and the seat is just wide enough. 

Unfortunately, we left more than 30 minutes late, delay that could not be absorbed given the flight duration of less than 60 minutes.

Service

Air Dolomiti, like other airlines in the LH group, has abolished the free in-flight service for economy passengers, replacing it with a far superior paid offering, at least judging by the photos of the items on the menu.

Basically, passengers are offered just some water and a cookie, everything else is chargeable. I think this solution is perfect for both passengers and crew/company.

Wi-fi

The wi-fi symbol on the seat had deluded me: there is no Internet connection to the outside world, however, you have access to a free portal.

From here you can enjoy the digital newsstand, listen to music, play games, or watch institutional videos. The nicest thing is the map, not exactly navigable, but still better than nothing.

In conclusion

Without infamy or praise. Sure I was a little disappointed by the surprise over the non-disbursement of Star Alliance benefits, being a regional full carrier I did not expect second-class passenger treatment.

The late departure, caused by the late arrival of the car resulting in the loss of the slot on Munich, reduced my time to wander around Lufthansa's second hub and gave me just enough time to pop into the Senator Lounge before boarding my flight to Tokyo.