No Arrivals Access
[QUOTE=DFW DL]Having flown both DL and BA into FCO, I can confirm that House's info is correct - you will both be arriving into the terminal C satellite.
It is possible to get out of the immigration herd and back to either the satellite or the main part of terminal C. One simply stays on the SkyBridge train after everyone else has gotten off. If there isn't a guard to shoo you off, you stay on board while one set of doors close and the opposite side opens, allowing the outbound pax on. This puts you in the normal "departures" stream. Alternatively, you can walk out of the newly opened doors and proceed to the main departures area in terminal C, where the BA lounge is located.
If you stay in the satelite, you can try to talk your way into the lounge. As a PM I've also used the AZ lounge adjacent. Neither is anything special. The BA lounge is much better, but may not be used by arriving pax.
Suggest you arrange to meet in the lobby bar at the Airport Hilton, which is very pleasant and not too far of a walk. If cost is not an object, you can also arrange for a day-use room at the Hilton and have a shower and change of clothes if desired. I've actually used the FCO Hilton as a base of operations when doing business in the outskirts of Rome (anywhere outside the GRA)...there's actually less travel time involved when one doesn't have to fight the central Rome traffic. It's a very nice hotel.
--The Delta arrival from ATL is now bussed into the terminals - park and ride. They dump you into the non-security side of Terminal C (not the satellite), so you cannot get back in without a connecting ticket (we tried). We flew B/E and as a result had access to any of the Alitalia lounges..if we could have gotten to them. And the Giotto lounge in Sat C is fairly nice with shower facilities. This ended up making for a bad hair/body odor day in Rome on our arrival day.
As for the Hilton, your only option is to pay $125 for a day room....quite a fee for a couple of showers, even in Rome. Being HHonors Diamond doesn't get you a shower either. Alternately you could fly US Air...which gives their business class passengers access to the Hilton facilities for free.