Unbelievable but true. Finally bookable award tickets aboard ITA Airways using points and a few tax dollars
Using Flying Club loyalty program points, you can book award tickets to fly aboard ITA Airways by paying a few dollars in fees
Virgin Atlantic
ITA Airways
SkyTeam
Those who read TFC know very well My critical view of ITA Airways' Volare loyalty program., namely the choice of do not provide an award chart, fixed or dynamic, for booking award tickets. In contrast, Volare members can use the many points they have accumulated by flying only in cash&points mode, where 1000 points have a value of 5 euros.
In this article:
As I have had occasion to say several times and also in light of the Recent change in British Airways executive club rules., Flying is by far the most generous in terms of points bestowed for each ticket purchased.
It must be understood that 1 fly point is not usable as you can use Avios points, Flying Blue or all other world carriers' points instead. It is like when you compare the price of apples and pomegranates at the supermarket, they look similar, they have a similar name, but they are not the same thing.
Skyteam looking forward to Star Alliance
Volare users have been complaining since its inception about the lack of points accumulation (and benefit disbursement) when flying with Skyteam partner airlines, of which ITA would appear to be a full member, To date, however, those who buy a ticket with ITA and end up flying codeshare with other carriers, except for three, do not accumulate points of any kind. The same applies to members of all Skyteam programs flying routes with ITA who see no credit on their cards.
Add to this the fact that the stay in the historic alliance with Delta and Air France KLM has its days numbered and that, sooner or later, Flying will join the Star Alliance family even more uncertainty is generated about the accumulation of points for future flights.
ITA award tickets bookable with Flying Club points
Did you get your flight cancelled, miss your connection, land late?
You could get up to 600€ compensation per person
What we have always said, however, is, Sooner or later, ITA would have to adapt to the rules of the game of the rest of the world. If you are part of an alliance and have partners whose passengers accumulate points by flying your planes, then you must also allow the same users to book an award ticket using the points, subject to the rules of the traveler's loyalty program.
And that day has come. I was looking for an award ticket on the Virgin Atlantic website for the fall and out of nowhere, searching through the options, ITA Airways flights bookable with Flying Club points jumped out at me.
At the beginning of the year, Virgin Atlantic joined the Skyteam alliance in its own right. and signed an agreement with all the alliance carriers, including ITA Airways. In fact, the frequent flyer from one of the world's sexiest airlines is the only partner, along with Korean Air, to have closed a deal with ITA. As we explained in an article, flying ITA and accumulating points on Virgin is very generous and also helps to obtain/renew status in the FC.
A business class ticket from the east coast of the U.S., to Rome Fiumicino costs between 75 and 85k Flying Club points and less than $6 in taxes. The cost, compared to the same ticket on a direct flight operated by Delta is slightly more expensive, Delta starts at 60k, however, it is still competitive.
There are not only intercontinental routes, but also all other routes in the ITA network (subject to availability) from 5.00 miles FC for a Rome/Genoa ticket, or 10k points for flying economy from Rome to Cairo and 15,500 for a flight to Amsterdam.
Anomalies, oddities and the glad tidings
At present, as mentioned, there are three carriers that have signed an agreement with Volare. In addition to Virgin Atlantic there is. Korean Air and Air Europa.
However, I did not find any possibility of booking award tickets using Skypass program points, I searched on the same routes/dates as the flights bookable through Virgin Atlantic, but there is no date available.
The second oddity is that there are no seats available with departures from Italy. Trying to search for the same flights, but in the opposite direction, there is no availability, an indication that ITA has opened award classes only for passengers heading to Italy, but without giving them the opportunity to use the points to fly from Italy aboard blue planes.
Third anomaly is that I found no availability for award tickets in economy or premium economy, on the other hand, it appears that there are plenty of business class award seats available and on all intercontinental network routes to the U.S. and South America.
Taxes and surcharges are the ones that increasingly drive up the final cost of the ticket, the happy news is that ITA's award tickets have virtually zero taxes as is the case with all U.S. carriers' flights, if AF charges nearly 250€ on an ITA economy ticket for a business it charges less than 6$.
South America the real treat of the table
For the same points, but with a tiny bit more surcharges, with which you book the flight from New York to Rome you can also book the flight from Sao Paulo to Rome, while the flight from Buenos Aires to Fiumicino costs 100k points one way plus taxes.
Prices aligned with what is required for routes operated by Air France and KLM via Paris and Amsterdam.
All that glitters is not gold
Obviously this is good news that bodes well for the near future, especially in the key of using Volare points to redeem award tickets with partners. If you have FC points in your pocket booking a ticket in business with ITA may not be the best way to use them.
For example, I booked using 60k points the world's most expensive first class ticket, or an armchair The Suite on board All Nippon Airlines from London to Haneda, And I look forward to taking off in the next few days, of course I don't say when otherwise you catch the bum at the airport And you snatch the place from me.
Today the cost of that ticket has gone up, now you need 85k points plus taxes i.e. the same number of miles needed for the flight to New York or Miami, but this is a ticket that if bought cash costs 9000 one way.
In conclusion
Well, bravo ITA and bravo to the guys at Volare. To date, ITA's frequent flyer route is unique in the world, but if you then have to play by the rules of the game, the newcomer cannot impose its vision on the rest of the world. Now I expect reciprocity, i.e., the ability to spend Flying points aboard Virgin Atlantic's stunning Upper Class, obviously not in cash&points where 1000 Volare points are worth 5€, Otherwise, a ticket will take about half a million points.
