• ITA Airways Airbus A330 in sky
    ITA Airways
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    AZ/ITY
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Rome Fiumicino Airport
    Year Founded:
    2020
    Alliance:
    SkyTeam
    CEO:
    Fabio Lazzerini
    Country:
    Italy

Italian flag carrier ITA Airways has become the latest operator to take delivery of the sleek Airbus A350 XWB. The airline's first example of the type, which belongs to the series' A350-900 variant, arrived in Rome yesterday evening on lease from ALAFCO. The carrier has thus become the first airline in Italy to receive the Airbus A350.

A special delivery

Around six weeks ago, Simple Flying reported that ITA Airways had revealed the stunning livery that its Airbus A350-900s will wear. Breaking the mold compared to the white fuselages of many of its European counterparts, ITA's XWB aircraft are primarily blue, while also featuring red, green and white tricolor aspects.

The initial reveal was exciting in itself, but ITA has now taken this to the next level with the confirmation that the aircraft has been delivered. It arrived at the carrier's Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) hub yesterday evening, at which point ITA became the 40th airline (and the first in Italy) to receive the type. Airbus explained in a statement:

ITA Airways’ A350 will start operations in early June 2022, [serving] the new intercontinental routes that the company will open in the summer season from Rome Fiumicino to Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.

ITA painting A350
The Lufthansa-MSC Group consortium is likely to win the bid. Photo: ITA Airways

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Two classes of travel onboard

The aforementioned routes are among ITA's longest, serving far-flung destinations across the Atlantic Ocean. With this in mind, the Italian flag carrier will fit the aircraft with a fully lie-flat business class cabin that consists of 33 seats. According to ch-aviation.com, they will be laid out in a four-abreast setup. All in all, this section will account for almost exactly 10% of the jet's total capacity.

Indeed, when paired with the A350's 301 economy class seats, this will give it a maximum occupancy of 334 passengers. Interestingly, ch-aviation notes that the 108 of 301 economy seats feature extra legroom, namely 34 inches of pitch, while the remaining 193 offer 31-32 inches. However, the extra legroom seats aren't premium economy as such, as they are nine-abreast like the standard offering.

ITA Shannon Rome Map
It took just over two-and-a-half hours for the aircraft to fly from Shannon to Rome yesterday evening. Image: FlightRadar24.com

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The delivery flight

As alluded to earlier in the article, the new aircraft, which bears the registration EI-IFA, arrived in Rome last night. It had come from Shannon, Ireland, where data from FlightRadar24.com shows that it left at 17:06 local time yesterday afternoon. Operating as flight AZ8020, it cruised over Europe at an altitude of 43,000 feet.

Two hours and 33 minutes later, at 20:39 local time, it touched down in its new hometown. Interestingly, FlightRadar24.com's scheduling data suggests that it has two test flights from Rome planned for this afternoon and tonight. In the longer term, it will certainly be exciting to see the type enter revenue service with ITA.

What do you make of ITA Airways' first Airbus A350 delivery? Are you excited to see the type enter service with the Italian flag carrier? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!