Alitalia A330 Trip Report JFK-Rome (FCO) – Very Impressed – Lie-Flat & Excellent Food in Magnifica Business Class

by Adam

Alitalia gets a previously much deserved bum rap when it comes to their long-haul product, however I found their A330 service operated on former Air One aircraft to be excellent. I’d even go as far as to say it was better than business class on Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, and Delta’s non-lie flat product. In 2008, just prior to the Alitalia – Air One merger, Air One had ordered 12 A330s  with deliveries beginning in 2010. Post merger, those aircraft were reassigned to long-haul Alitalia routes. The aircraft feature Alitalia’s updated Magnifica business class which includes fully flat leather seats (duvets and pillows provided), 1-2-1 seating, Bulgari amenity kits, 15.4 inch screens with on-demand entertainment, USB charging and play-back, quality noise-canceling headphones, an external camera, and excellent food. As part of its fleet refurbishment project begun in 2009, Alitalia also completed reconfiguring its entire fleet of ten Boeing 777 aircraft in July 2012, all with the same layout and amenities as the Magnifica business class on the A330.

This is a review on my JFK-FCO flight aboard the A330 in Magnifica business class.

1)Alitalia JFK-FCO A330 Magnifica Business Class
2)Westin Excelsior, Rome x4
3)Hilton Sorrento Palace – Sorrento, Italy
4)Hotel Marina Riviera, Amalfi, Italy
5)Hotel Cala di Volpe, Costa Smeralda – An SPG Luxury Collection Hotel

a close up of a ticket

Alitalia operates the Michelangelo lounge at JFK and boy is it nothing to write home about! We are talking plastic cups for liquor, wine, and beer and prepackaged sandwiches and salads. The lounge was large though with plenty of seating room and power outlets. The lounge is also used by Turkish Airlines passengers. I arrived with barely enough time to spare prior to the flight and was in the lounge for all of 15 minutes prior to heading off to the boarding gate.

a group of people sitting in a lounge area

a counter with a variety of food items

Once on board the service was nice. I was greeted warmly, my coat was hung, and I was given a glass of prosecco. I was offered a choice of newspapers (all in Italian) and then didn’t see the flight attendants again until after take-off. We left a few minutes early and the captain informed us that it looked like we would be landing about 45 minutes ahead of schedule in Rome. The flight attendants then came by to offer an amenity kit, another glass of prosecco, and the food and wine menu.

The seats as mentioned are in a 1-2-1 layout and I had a window seat near the back of the business section.

a seat on an airplane

a close-up of a seat

a white pillow in a plastic bag on a seat

a group of people in an airplane

a small black bag on a white surface

a bag with a bag and a toiletries

The premium Bulgari amenity kit included body lotion, after shave emulsion, antioxidant emulsion, lip balm, splendid radiance revitalizing concentrate, Bulgari Man cologne, ear plugs, an eye mask, and socks.

The menu included dinner selections, several Italian wine pairings, and information about the local ingredients derived from different Italian regions.

a menu of a dinnera menu with black text

a bottle of olive oila menu with text on it

a white text on a beige backgrounda white text on a white background

a white background with black texta white text on a white backgrounda white text on a white background

Dinner was superb, it had to be one of my favorite in-flight meals and the service was exemplary. I loved how the two flight attendants worked the aisle together to make your plate right in front of you. The presentation was also excellent. I went with the pasta with tomato and basil sauce and the sea bass.

a fork and knife wrapped in a red ribbon

a table with a plate and silverware on it

a plate of food and a glass of wine

a bowl of vegetables and a tomato

The pasta was by far my favorite meal item and the sauce was amazing. I really liked how they put my pasta plate together at my seat, delicately mixing the noodles, sauce, and Parmesan cheese right in front of me.

a stack of white plates and sauces

a table with plates and sauces

a table with plates and food on it

a person in a uniform eating pasta

a person serving food on a table

a man in a green jacket serving food on an airplane

a plate of pasta and sauce

a plate of pasta and a glass of wine

a plate of pasta and sauce

When it came to the main course, it was the same teamwork and serving technique. Both dishes were rolled down the aisle and your selection was prepared at your seat. Olive oil was added for the perfect flavor…

The main course was equally as delicious and I really enjoyed the paired wine from Sardinia as well.

a table with plates and bowls of food

a woman pouring olive oil into a tray of food

a table with glasses and lemons on it

You’ll note that the menu only included two main course selections, a chicken and a fish dish. The passenger in-front of me was a vegetarian and ended up having a large plate of pasta with lots of veggies. I’m not sure if there was a separate vegetarian option available or not.

The 15.4 in-flight entertainment system was solid and had over 40 movies with several new releases. You could also connect your iPhone/iPod (not iPhone 5) directly to the unit.

a screenshot of a computer screen

a pair of black headphones

a screenshot of a television screen

The seat does fully recline into a comfortable bed and there was plenty of room to stretch my legs. The duvet was comfy and the pillow was a decent size, though I took an extra one from the empty seat across from me to prop up my head. The bed felt very similar to the Delta 777 lie-flat product. I didn’t sleep much but I relaxed and watched three films before landing in Rome.

a bed with a pillow and a blanket on the back of a plane

a bed in an airplane

Alitalia’s advertisement for their lie-flat product…

a woman sleeping in an airplane

It was an excellent flight and one of my favorite flights to Europe. I really loved the food and the bed was comfortable and perfect for relaxing and watching on-demand movies. I didn’t go into the flight expecting much so it was a very pleasant surprise. In the future, I will certainly select Alitalia’s product over a similar Delta direct flight to Rome or Milan, a statement I never would have made two years ago! It goes without saying that it hands down beats Air France’s and KLM’s current transatlantic products. Better yet, I’ve had luck booking my parents on Alitalia business flights from JFK using Delta SkyMiles at the low level during August!

My memory card was unfortunately damaged at the end of this trip and several of my Alitalia pictures were forever lost. Special thanks to Enrique over at Airliners.net for filling in the gaps with seating and food pictures from his recent Alitalia flight to CCS.

PS – Alitalia flights are now bookable on Delta.com!!!

Related check out Magnifica on the 777-200 – Trip Report – Alitalia B777-200ER Magnifica Business Class FCO-JFK

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15 comments

Jimmy Y. February 27, 2013 - 1:37 pm

Great TR. Looks like a solid product.

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Chris Bastian February 27, 2013 - 2:52 pm

Alitalia is continuing to cycle through a sequence of Magnifican Class menus highlighting different food regions of Italy (inyour case, Sardinia and Friuli). The full list is available at their website:
http://alitalia.com/US_EN/your_travel/class_services/magnifica_business/index.aspx

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Pointsloverrrr February 27, 2013 - 8:40 pm

how does biz availability typically look on this route?

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Tom / SitInFirst.com February 27, 2013 - 8:49 pm

My least favorite J seats…but the food sure looks good.

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Darryl Polzot January 7, 2014 - 9:16 am

I HAVE TAKEN MAGNIFICA CLASS ON 4 TRIPS AND IT WAS SUPERIOR TO, AIR FRANCE, DELTA BUSINESS ELITE, AMERICAN, UNITED AND BA CLUB WORLD. IT WAS EVEN BETTER THAN SINGAPORE BUSINESS.

THE SEATS, CUISINE AND SERVICE WERE GREAT AND NOT ROBOTIC LIKE SINGAPORE.

I AM TAKING IT AGAIN IN 9 DAYS!

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adam January 7, 2014 - 9:20 am

@Darlyl – I love it as well, especially the food! The 777-200 was much the same – https://pointmetotheplane.boardingarea.com/2013/10/30/trip-report-alitalia-b777-200er-magnifica-business-class-fco-jfk-rome/

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Allan April 7, 2014 - 5:31 pm

Hey, I know this is really random, but I LOVE the after shave that’s in this amenity kit. I’m not flying Alitalia anytime soon. If you’re not using it, is it possible for me to buy it off you or for you to be very nice to a blog follower and send it to me for free?

I’m desperate! They don’t make it in the US.

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Allan April 7, 2014 - 7:44 pm

Hey,
I tried posting before, but didn’t work.

Do you still have this amenity kit? I am in LOVE with the after shave and I can’t find it anywhere. I’ll buy it from you.. or you can send it to one of your blog followers for free:)

Please let me know. Thanks!

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