Bretteee
Jun 16, 02, 8:50 pm
I just returned from a roundrtrip on Alitalia in Prima/Business Class from Geneva to Malta via Rome. Prima is the European Business Class while Magnifica is the long haul Business Class.
I used a 30,000 Delta Airlines Altalia intra Europe award. The Y class is 25,000 miles. This is a great award because it allows you to fly from any European city to any other European city and is not restricted just to Italy.
You will notice for example that all European awards from other airlines like the BA awards on AA can only be used to or from the UK. LH on United only to or from Germany etc.
I was a bit nervous flying AZ because of all the strikes in Italy. In May there was a 1 day Controllers strike and Alitalia Express which flys GVA to Milan and short flights also went on strike 1 day. And a few days before we left FCO Airport was closed for 4 hours due to a Leaders Conference in Rome. In June again there was a 1 day Controllers strike but we lucked out! In addition I changed our dates 4 times with no problem.
We left Geneva at 7.10 am. The Alitalia check in Agent told us that we could use the Swiss Airlines Horizon Lounge. However when we got there the Swiss Airlines receptionist who was wearing a $20,000 diamond watch (maybe to promote Duty Free watches), in a rather snotty fashion told us that we could not use the lounge as we were not members of the Alitalia Ulyses Club. When I saw that the lounge had no windows and the snobby atmosphere I decided not to argue and preferred to have a cup of coffee at the departure gate which is much more pleasant.
The aircraft was an MD-80 DC-9 which showed its age. In the Y cabin they have 5 seats and in the Business 4 seats. The seats are in green which is quite different and interesting. We were very comfortable.
The crew were reserved at first but gradually became friendlier. I was impressed by the fact that the young steward helped my friend put her carry on bag in the stowaway bin. When my sister asked a British Airways steward in Business class to help her with her bag, he responded that it was "not his job to do this."
There were 108 passengers and 113 meals. They always carry 5 extra meals in reserve.
Business class was relatively empty.
The flight took 1 hour 30 minutes. For the first 20 minutes we flew over the alps which were still in early June covered with snow. The DC-9 is a very pleasant aircraft. It was very smooth in the air and on the ground with not too much noise.
Breakfast consisted of Proscutto and Provelone cheese, a sweet Croissant, delicious bread with excellent Cherry jam and a fresh fruit salad. I left the proscutto and cheese and was in heaven with the bread, butter and jam. However the coffee was not very good which is surprising for an Italian airline but they pride themselves that on the Airbus they offer real Expresso.
In Rome we had to take a bus to the main Terminal which is a pain in the neck but we immediately noticed the sea breeze as we disembarked as Rome airport is right by the beach.
The new airport is really beautiful. We had to take a train to the terminal which is also a pain. We headed to the Business lounge which Alitalia shares with Continental. All the other airlines share one larger lounge which is nicer than Alitalia's.
This time we were welcomed into the lounge unlike Swiss Airlines which threw us out. However the lack of windows and the fact that so many people were in the lounge bothered me and later we were to find out that the coffee shop with the large windows overlooking the tarmac and runway was a much more pleasant place to pass our time. The lounge offered sweet croissants, jam, bad coffee from a machine and juices.
Rome to Malta:
After 2 hours in Rome we boarded another DC-9 to Malta for a 1 hour 30 minute flight. The flight was full in Y and C. Again we had to take a train + a bus to the plane. A bit of a hassle.
Lunch consisted of a huge portion of sour Mozzarela Cheese (tasty) and proscutto again with fruit salad, delicious bread, good apricot jam and fresh fruit salad.
We flew across Sicily and saw Palermo, and the top of Mt. Etna. Flew over the islands of Gozo and Comino and passed Valetta the capital of Malta.
We were happy to see our suitcases made the connection.
Malta to Rome:
We left at 12.15 pm and before boarding we were allowed to stay in the lounge which is shared by all airlines. It was crowded also with no windows. They had 2 computers and I used 1. They offered juices and chocolate cake. AZ have a daily flight to Rome from Malta and a new daily flight to Milan.
Again the flight was 100% full. For lunch we had very good cold turkey cuts with provelone cheese, a large portion of smoked salmon, delicious bread and a custard pound cake.
They also had hot towels.
On the return we had to spend 6 hours in Rome waiting for our connection. We did not get bored 1 minute. First we visited the rail station where they have an Express train to Rome 2x hour. The trip lasts 32 minutes. Then we went to the Rome Airport Hilton for bad coffee. Strange bad coffee in Italy! Then we visited all the duty free stores: Valentino, Gucci, Versace etc etc and I actually bought 2 belts. First time I have ever bought anything in a duty free store. Except for Versace, the sales people were not very cooperative and seemed annoyed to serve you.
Then we went to the coffee shop and had more bad coffee!! But it was pleasant to look at the runway/tarmac and all the people. It is really a beautiful airport.
The airport is nicely spread out into Terminals A, B and C. A for domestic flights, B for all except Alitalia and C for Alitalia and code share International flights.
Then we went to the Business Class lounge. It was nice and quiet at 6pm. They had delicious English tea sandwiches (salmon, tuna) and Peach, Pear and Apricot nectars.
Suddenly it was time to board. This time no need to take a bus or train. The flight was full. We had the exact identical meal as from Malta to Rome.
We flew up the Italian coast which reminded me of a flight I took from San Diego to Los Angeles. Very similar scenery at night. Though it was already dark by 10 pm, it was beautiful flying over the white snow covered alps.
We were 30 minutes late but we were happy to see our bags.
Ratings: Comfort 10/10, crew 7/10 and food 7/10. I rarely fly Business class but a few years ago on Swissair to Zurich from Berlin which only takes about 1 hour we got a Fillet Mignon. So compared to that AZ was not a match but we plebs who usually fly in the back were contented.
Lastly Malta is a great place to vacation. It's fascinating with lots of history and one cannot get bored there. We also went to Gozo nearby. Hotels are inexpensive. $100 a night for 2 with breakfast in 5 star hotels.Not many places in Europe offer such low rates for such beautiful resorts. We stayed in Malta at the Westin which has a nice beach club. However the Hilton is the nicest hotel.
In Gozo we stayed at the Kempinsky San Lawrenz which is beautiful. No beach but they have a shuttle bus to Ramla Bay, a gorgeous beach. I highly recommend Malta and Gozo.
I used a 30,000 Delta Airlines Altalia intra Europe award. The Y class is 25,000 miles. This is a great award because it allows you to fly from any European city to any other European city and is not restricted just to Italy.
You will notice for example that all European awards from other airlines like the BA awards on AA can only be used to or from the UK. LH on United only to or from Germany etc.
I was a bit nervous flying AZ because of all the strikes in Italy. In May there was a 1 day Controllers strike and Alitalia Express which flys GVA to Milan and short flights also went on strike 1 day. And a few days before we left FCO Airport was closed for 4 hours due to a Leaders Conference in Rome. In June again there was a 1 day Controllers strike but we lucked out! In addition I changed our dates 4 times with no problem.
We left Geneva at 7.10 am. The Alitalia check in Agent told us that we could use the Swiss Airlines Horizon Lounge. However when we got there the Swiss Airlines receptionist who was wearing a $20,000 diamond watch (maybe to promote Duty Free watches), in a rather snotty fashion told us that we could not use the lounge as we were not members of the Alitalia Ulyses Club. When I saw that the lounge had no windows and the snobby atmosphere I decided not to argue and preferred to have a cup of coffee at the departure gate which is much more pleasant.
The aircraft was an MD-80 DC-9 which showed its age. In the Y cabin they have 5 seats and in the Business 4 seats. The seats are in green which is quite different and interesting. We were very comfortable.
The crew were reserved at first but gradually became friendlier. I was impressed by the fact that the young steward helped my friend put her carry on bag in the stowaway bin. When my sister asked a British Airways steward in Business class to help her with her bag, he responded that it was "not his job to do this."
There were 108 passengers and 113 meals. They always carry 5 extra meals in reserve.
Business class was relatively empty.
The flight took 1 hour 30 minutes. For the first 20 minutes we flew over the alps which were still in early June covered with snow. The DC-9 is a very pleasant aircraft. It was very smooth in the air and on the ground with not too much noise.
Breakfast consisted of Proscutto and Provelone cheese, a sweet Croissant, delicious bread with excellent Cherry jam and a fresh fruit salad. I left the proscutto and cheese and was in heaven with the bread, butter and jam. However the coffee was not very good which is surprising for an Italian airline but they pride themselves that on the Airbus they offer real Expresso.
In Rome we had to take a bus to the main Terminal which is a pain in the neck but we immediately noticed the sea breeze as we disembarked as Rome airport is right by the beach.
The new airport is really beautiful. We had to take a train to the terminal which is also a pain. We headed to the Business lounge which Alitalia shares with Continental. All the other airlines share one larger lounge which is nicer than Alitalia's.
This time we were welcomed into the lounge unlike Swiss Airlines which threw us out. However the lack of windows and the fact that so many people were in the lounge bothered me and later we were to find out that the coffee shop with the large windows overlooking the tarmac and runway was a much more pleasant place to pass our time. The lounge offered sweet croissants, jam, bad coffee from a machine and juices.
Rome to Malta:
After 2 hours in Rome we boarded another DC-9 to Malta for a 1 hour 30 minute flight. The flight was full in Y and C. Again we had to take a train + a bus to the plane. A bit of a hassle.
Lunch consisted of a huge portion of sour Mozzarela Cheese (tasty) and proscutto again with fruit salad, delicious bread, good apricot jam and fresh fruit salad.
We flew across Sicily and saw Palermo, and the top of Mt. Etna. Flew over the islands of Gozo and Comino and passed Valetta the capital of Malta.
We were happy to see our suitcases made the connection.
Malta to Rome:
We left at 12.15 pm and before boarding we were allowed to stay in the lounge which is shared by all airlines. It was crowded also with no windows. They had 2 computers and I used 1. They offered juices and chocolate cake. AZ have a daily flight to Rome from Malta and a new daily flight to Milan.
Again the flight was 100% full. For lunch we had very good cold turkey cuts with provelone cheese, a large portion of smoked salmon, delicious bread and a custard pound cake.
They also had hot towels.
On the return we had to spend 6 hours in Rome waiting for our connection. We did not get bored 1 minute. First we visited the rail station where they have an Express train to Rome 2x hour. The trip lasts 32 minutes. Then we went to the Rome Airport Hilton for bad coffee. Strange bad coffee in Italy! Then we visited all the duty free stores: Valentino, Gucci, Versace etc etc and I actually bought 2 belts. First time I have ever bought anything in a duty free store. Except for Versace, the sales people were not very cooperative and seemed annoyed to serve you.
Then we went to the coffee shop and had more bad coffee!! But it was pleasant to look at the runway/tarmac and all the people. It is really a beautiful airport.
The airport is nicely spread out into Terminals A, B and C. A for domestic flights, B for all except Alitalia and C for Alitalia and code share International flights.
Then we went to the Business Class lounge. It was nice and quiet at 6pm. They had delicious English tea sandwiches (salmon, tuna) and Peach, Pear and Apricot nectars.
Suddenly it was time to board. This time no need to take a bus or train. The flight was full. We had the exact identical meal as from Malta to Rome.
We flew up the Italian coast which reminded me of a flight I took from San Diego to Los Angeles. Very similar scenery at night. Though it was already dark by 10 pm, it was beautiful flying over the white snow covered alps.
We were 30 minutes late but we were happy to see our bags.
Ratings: Comfort 10/10, crew 7/10 and food 7/10. I rarely fly Business class but a few years ago on Swissair to Zurich from Berlin which only takes about 1 hour we got a Fillet Mignon. So compared to that AZ was not a match but we plebs who usually fly in the back were contented.
Lastly Malta is a great place to vacation. It's fascinating with lots of history and one cannot get bored there. We also went to Gozo nearby. Hotels are inexpensive. $100 a night for 2 with breakfast in 5 star hotels.Not many places in Europe offer such low rates for such beautiful resorts. We stayed in Malta at the Westin which has a nice beach club. However the Hilton is the nicest hotel.
In Gozo we stayed at the Kempinsky San Lawrenz which is beautiful. No beach but they have a shuttle bus to Ramla Bay, a gorgeous beach. I highly recommend Malta and Gozo.