Summary

  • ITA Airways has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo.
  • The new aircraft has a three-class configuration with 165 passenger capacity and features the latest generation “on-demand” entertainment system.
  • ITA Airways aims to modernize its fleet by retiring older models and aims to reach a ratio of 5,500 employees and 94 aircraft by 2027. The airline’s fleet diversity aligns with the Lufthansa Group’s integration plans.


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ITA Airways and Airbus held a delivery ceremony for the Italian carrier’s first Airbus A321neo. This event occurred in the European OEM’s manufacturing facility in Hamburg, as ITA Airways increased its fleet size and now operates six different Airbus aircraft iterations despite only having 88 jets overall.


A new member of the ITA Airways family

On Friday, ITA Airways took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo aircraft. The new narrowbody jet sports the airline’s blue livery, named after Massimiliano Rosolino, an Italian swimmer and Olympic champion in Sydney in 2000. According to data from ch-aviation, this plane has a capacity for 165 passengers in a three-class configuration, including 141 seats in economy, 12 in premium economy, and 12 in business. In addition, each seat is equipped with the latest generation “on-demand” video and audio entertainment system featuring 17.3” (business), 15.6” (premium economy), and 13.3” (economy) low reflectance touchscreen displays with 4K resolution for a simple, smooth, and intuitive user experience.

Francesco Presicce, ITA Airways Chief Technology Officer and Accountable Manager, said,

“The A321neo is ITA Airways’ first narrowbody aircraft configured with three separate cabins: business class with seats reclining into fully lie-flat beds, premium economy, and Economy (with seats dedicated to comfort economy). In terms of type and internal configuration, the new aircraft is ideal for the Company’s upcoming routes (Middle East and Africa). I would like to thank the entire team involved in the project for their commitment to achieving such a prestigious result for a young carrier with an ever-expanding fleet size”.

ITA Airways – an Airbus fan

Despite only having a fleet of 88 jets, ITA Airways is known for having aircraft from six different Airbus families, plus three wet-leased CRJ1000ERs. ITA Airways has planes from the following families: Airbus A220s, A320ceos, A320neos, A330ceos, A330neos, and A350s.

Looking at ch-aviation’s database, ITA Airways has one Airbus A220-100, seven A220-300s, 18 A319ceos, 26 A320ceos, 13 A320neos, one A321neo, eight A330-200s, five A330-900s, and six A350-900s on its fleet.

Delivery of ITA Airways first Airbus A321neo

Photo: ITA Airways.

Francesco Presicce said: “With the arrival of the Airbus A321neo, ITA Airways will include all the last generation Airbus aircraft families – the A220, A320, A330, and A350.”

This amount of fleet diversity has raised questions among specialists about the ultimate goal of having so many different types of aircraft operated by a relatively small company.

ITA Airways is modernizing its fleet, with 63 still on order. These planes will help the Italian company retire older models such as the A319s, A320ceos, and the A330-200s. Per a Cirium analysis, ITA aims to reach a reasonable ratio of 5,500 employees and 94 aircraft (58:1) by 2027.

Moreover, ITA Airways’ love for the Airbus brand is an advantage for the Lufthansa Group (which is looking to have its stake acquisition of the Italian company approved early next year). The current ITA fleet simplifies integration into Lufthansa Group, with the only new variant being the A330neo.

Have you traveled with ITA Airways? How was the experience? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: ch-aviation, Cirium.

  • ITA Airways Airbus A330 in sky

    Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

    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

  • rsz_airbus_50th_years_anniversary_formation_flight_-_air_to_air

    Airbus

    Stock Code:
    AIR

    Business Type:
    Planemaker

    Date Founded:
    1970-12-18

    CEO:
    Guillaume Faury

    Headquarters Location:
    Toulouse, France

    Key Product Lines:
    Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380

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