Linate-Alghero on an Aeroitalia 737. How to travel 'domestic' with Italy's newest airline
A 'basic' product, but commensurate with the length of routes covered and the cost of tickets. It is the simplest way [...]
AeroItalia
LIN
Italy
A 'basic' product', but commensurate with the length of routes covered and the cost of tickets. This is the simplest way to describe the onboard experience offered by Aeroitalia, the company that flies in the Italian skies (but also to Romania, Barcelona and, from next March 25, London) as of July 2022. And which, 18 months after that debut, already counts a fleet of ten airplanes, with the eleventh expected soon. All (except two ATR 72-600s) are Boeing 737-800s.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- B737
- Class:
- Economy
- Treat:
- AOH - LIN
- Price:
- Press trip
- Book
And it was on one of these that on a cold but very clear January morning. I boarded at Milan Linate airport bound for Alghero, one of two Sardinian destinations connected with the city airport by Aeroitalia (the other is Olbia). With the scheduled departure time of 9 a.m., after a quick ride on the new M4 line of the Milan subway, I showed up at the security checkpoint 90 minutes early.
On weekdays Linate is unpredictable: on some you go smoothly, on others the line at the checkpoints is a big one. When in doubt, I had purchased on the SEA website aeroportimilano.it. an access to Fast Track at the price of not 9 euros. I wouldn't have needed it that day, but I still took advantage of it to skip even those ten minutes of queuing and handle the checks in a couple of minutes.
Boarding was scheduled at gate A08, one of those connected to the planes by inter-state buses (Aeroitalia indifferently uses those or the boarding bridges located in the boarding area located on the second floor.) After once again admiring how beautiful the Linate terminal is, I arrived at the gate about 50 minutes early.
The boarding of the Flight XZ 2521 began just ten minutes later. On the runway, amidst a 'sea' of ITA Airways blue liveries, were at that moment two 737-800s from Aeroitalia. The bus left us at the foot of the steps of the one marked 9H-GFP, the 'grandfather' of Aeroitalia's 737s: still delivered in the last months of the last century to Air China, was Between 2018 and 2021 with Blue Panorama, before being Delivered to Aeroitalia in August 2022.
Of Luca Patanè and Uvet's now defunct company, my 737 to Alghero held The color of the seats (dark blue) and the configuration: 189 seats in a single class, which is then the same one adopted by Ryanair on that same type of aircraft. But unlike the Irish company, Aeroitalia is not a low-cost airline. I would find that out later, though. In the meantime, having climbed aboard, I sat down at the 6A, the window seat selected during online check-in.
With the 'Basic' rate Aeroitalia gives the possibility of pre-selecting a seat on board at prices ranging from 20 to 7 euros, depending on whether one wants to sit in the front row or at the wing exits with more legroom, in front or further back. But in the off-season it is most likely Finding the seat you want without spending a dime when checking in online.
Although it took no less than three bus rides to get everyone on board, there must have been about 100 of us on board, maybe less. The doors were closed five minutes before 9 a.m., while the commander explained that, thanks to very strong tailwinds, the flight would be very fast, around 50 minutes. Five minutes after 9 o'clock we were in the air, heading for the Apennines, the Ligurian Sea, western Corsica, and finally northwestern Sardinia.
The 189-seat configuration Is the 'densest' one, on the 737-800. More seats than that, by manufacturer's regulations, cannot be installed. And the space available is that of low-costs, with The front seat three fingers from my knee (And I don't exceed 5 feet 7 inches).
In the front row and at the emergency exits.a (where I traveled on my return flight from Alghero), the legroom is definitely superior (There was more than a span between my knee and the front seat).
The seating equipment is 'basic' in the sense that. there are no power or USB outlets. And the seat, for obvious reasons, does not recline. But it should be remembered that Aeroitalia flies routes lasting between one hour and one hour and 20 minutes, during which even using it in airplane mode all the time, it is impossible for a smartphone to 'die' if properly charged before departure.
Which is quite different from what Wizzair does, which, with similarly basic seats, also flies to the Canary Islands, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with flight times between four and five hours.
I had also noticed that in the pocket of the front seat, next to the mandatory safety instructions, There was no menu with drinks and snacks. And I understood the reason fifteen minutes after takeoff, when Flight attendants passed with the trolley in the cabin offering water, tea or coffee. This is really appreciable, considering the average duration of flights operated by Aeroitalia.
The service was quick but courteous (On the return flight, the cabin steward, having recognized me, greeted me with a "welcome back.") What I noticed at that point was the complete absence of cabin customization, which was moreover perfectly clean at the time of boarding: glasses and napkins did not have any logos or colors reminiscent of those of the company, nor did the interior of the plane.
Whereas, that is, on the outside, the livery of Aeroitalia's 737s is very recognizable (as well as highly polished and brightly colored), once on board, the impression is of being on 'company X'. Something Aeroitalia's marketing will have to put its head to in the future.
Half an hour after takeoff, still over Corsica, we began our descent. And, after flying over a verdant Sardinia with fields dotted with sheep that might as well have been England, we landed at 'Alghero Fertilia - Riviera dei Coralli' airport. The 737 parked a few meters from the terminal, which I reached on foot in seconds.
Pro
- Free water, coffee and tea
Against
- Cabin old and too anonymous