All you need to know about configurations on Alitalia's A330's and B777's
Here are listed general notes on the A330 and B777 fleet of Alitalia:
A330
The two old "Air One"-style A330's are still running on some routes, usually only appearing on the following: BOS, ORD, YYZ and LOS/ACC. Other A330 flights should be with the new aircraft delivered 2009 and later. Check on the alitalia website if premium economy is being sold for your flight, that indicates presence of the new A330's.
There's not much to say about the old A330's other than old uninteresting seats, service should be the same as on other flights. Here's the seat map: http://www.alitalia.com/EN_EN/your_t...rd/A330Az.aspx (it's the one on the right)
(it looks like seats 38 J-K have extra legroom?)
On to the new A330's. The cabin layout of the new A330's can be seen in the same place as above, on the left.
The J is the new staggered 1-2-1 layout and flat-bed seats, with E-G seats being the "honeymoon" type. A and L are window seats, C, D, H, J are isolated aisle seats. The corridors and seating in J on the A330 will be slightly tighter than on the B777's which use the same layout but in a wider cabin.
The service in J is a meal after departure which has received numerous awards, followed by a breakfast or snack before arrival, and an open bar during the flight. The entertainment is the most updated version of the touch-screen PTV's, with lots of fun and stuff loaded.
Unfortunately some of these trip reports seem to expire over time, so please read them while you can!
In Y+ there is a 2-3-2 layout, so slightly better than economy. Greater recline is possible and more legroom, also an interesting-looking footrest. You get an almost-J amenity kit and an improved catering although still quite far from what J gets. Other benefits are the 200% miles and you can bring two suitcases of 23KGS each, also a secluded cabin which is calmer than the Y section. For seats, it is apparently better to avoid the first row as the bulkhead impedes legroom significantly. A couple of short testimonies can be found on our very own forum: AZ Classica Plus Review (A330) Alitalia Classica Plus JFK-MXP-JFK
As for the Y, it is a standard 2-4-2 layout with comfort being good according to most, do note there have been some horror stories about entertainment boxes, but I have personally never minded them, and the A330 has smaller ones compared to B777. Meal service is followed by open bar and breakfast/snack before arrival. Entertainment is very good with touchscreen PTV's, unlike on the B777.
If you're wondering about which seats to chose, 11 A-C-J-L look quite good, and maybe something around rows 34-35 which are in 2-3-2 and near the crew rest so probably a bit calmer, also since there's no toilets at the back. 23 A-C-J-L look good enough to be worth the comfort fee of €60, any other comfort seats are probably not worth it. Take a look also at rows 12-20 J-L which seem slightly more spacious than their A-C counterparts. Also if alone and wants to recline without annoying anyone (also no one poking into the IFE on your back), try 32 D, or even 33 D-E-G which only have crew rest behind them so a similar situation. Good luck!
The J product is the best Alitalia has to offer. 1-2-1 seating as in the A330 makes for a very spacious cabin, and the seats are of course flat-bed type. E, G seats are "honeymoon", A, L are window and C, D, H, J are isolated aisle seats. The service, as on the A330's, is the award-winning meal after departure, open bar, and then breakfast/snack before arrival. Note the IFE on the B777's has remained of the old type for some reason, so PTV's are a little jittery, but still good content. Trip reports here:
(there was none found yet)
For the B777 premium economy. The layout is 2-4-2 allowing for more comfort - that's two seats less in each row than economy. There is the improved catering and other benefits of Y+ stated above. The seats are a hard-shell type, different to the Y+ on the A330's. Rather than reclining they slide forwards which some people have found annoying, others not - let us know what you think. A TR is on aviazionecivile (look at the return flight): http://www.aviazionecivile.org/vb/sh...-Classica-Plus
In Y there is the dreaded 3-4-3, however legroom is good so this configuration has been described as OK by users, although the A330 is preferable. Again some complaints about entertainment boxes, and on the B777 the entertainment system is still of the old type with smaller and less responsive PTV's, content is still good. Per la cronaca, the entertainment boxes are under seats A, E, G, L.
As for the seats, most good-looking seats are blocked from reservation, however out of the comfort seats I would say only row 20 J-K-L are worth the €60. Watch out in particular that 31 A-B-C-J-K-L are narrow seats. 21-24 are not available to reserve, however 25-28 J-K-L are free for reservation and look quite good, in general the forwards cabin rows 18-28 looks better than the back cabin rows 31-44, except 41-42 A-B-C which might be worth a shot. Although I usually try to avoid the middle seats, it looks like to make up for it they have slightly more room. So up to you really. As in the A330 there's one seat with no one behind you to complain about reclining, and that's 39 D. There's always a downside though, in this case you might get people bumping into you as they walk down the aisle. So use this one as a last resort if all other nice seats are taken!
There's also plenty of recipes which look interesting to try out :-P.
UPDATE: It would seem that at least temporarily the above link is no longer updated. The menus each month are a rotation of various regional specialities ("best of" concept). I wonder if there's an alternative link somewhere?
Last edited by bungler; May 1, 13 at 1:38 pm..
Reason: added B777 seating advice as suggested by saroutou; updated post as is now sticky; updated with new stuff (comments/info/TRs)
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Thanks, great thread idea!! One detail - I might be wrong but I think that the old A330 is also flying FCO-ORD for a few more weeks. Also, if I'm not mistaken, even in J, the breakfast is always cold continental type. Menus in J follow regional themes, change every 3 months, and are available on alitalia.com. One region is for ex-Italy and the other region inspires the food to Italy.
Not sure if you're allowed to keep the thread at the top this way, but I do think it deserves stickiness.
Please also help me locate a TR for economy on the A330 and business on the B777, if you ever come across one!
EDIT: I have asked for this thread to become sticky at the TalkBoard forum. I don't know if that's the right procedure but hopefully they'll direct me to someone.
EDIT 2: Ok I've been given instructions, shouldn't be long now.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by orbitmic
Also, if I'm not mistaken, even in J, the breakfast is always cold continental type. Menus in J follow regional themes, change every 3 months, and are available on alitalia.com. One region is for ex-Italy and the other region inspires the food to Italy.
Breakfast is continental (no eggs), with warm baked food (brioches, bread...).
Change of menus is every 2 months if I'm not wrong.
the photo trip reports about AZ B777 new 3-class seats
I wrote a photo trip report and it includes many photos of AZ B777 new 3-class seats. This trip report was post in a Taiwanese aviation forum but I think you still can understand the details of these new seat design.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bearteacher
I wrote a photo trip report and it includes many photos of AZ B777 new 3-class seats. This trip report was post in a Taiwanese aviation forum but I think you still can understand the details of these new seat design.
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Lifetime Plat, BA G, A3 G, Aclub Plat, Hilton G, IC Amb, Starwood G, blablablah, etc
Posts: 6,266
Quote:
Originally Posted by raistlin
Breakfast is continental (no eggs), with warm baked food (brioches, bread...).
Change of menus is every 2 months if I'm not wrong.
It's every three months: February, May, August, and November get the new menus.
And indeed, the breads/ viennoiseries are heated on AZ but by my book that does not make it a warm breakfast. In fact, AZ breakfasts are actually a particularly minimal conception of continental breakfast. You don't even get cheese or cured meats, and it is also annoyingly repetitive (basically, always feels the same). I'd call it the only weak part of their long haul J catering.
Grazie mille, bungler!
the photo trip reports about AZ B777 new 3-class seats
