Concerto

I thought it might be worth having a separate thread for Air Dolomiti, as they are a fully integrated member of Miles & More. But, to be honest, I really don't know how much longer they will be around for. Very few flights seem to operate under their own designator (EN), and most of those on the Air Dolomiti website which operate out of Milan MXP seem to part of the Lufthansa Italia setup. Does anyone have any hard info on Air Dolomiti?

I would be interested to know which flights actually operate separately under their own code EN. I think Verona to Vienna, and Munich to Rimini might be candidates. I have noticed some very interesting advance purchase business fares in the previous months. But, in the previous months there seemed to be a flight between Milan MXP and Dresden which sadly seems to have suddenly been dropped.

red star

True, the DRS-MXP was a nice one. But with the cheapest Y rt ticket always priced close to 50% of the average monthly income in Eastern Germany it has been probably too challenging to fill the bird.

elitetraveler

I fly Air Dolomiti quite a bit, mainly VRN/FLR - MUC. The flights always seem full in Y. The FAs are attractive and very nice, and there is usually a snack or meal in J. The flights have been on time and my most recent flight was on an ATR which seemed to have a new interior, with nice leather seats and better headrests. All in all very nice flights, but no knowledge of their financial situation.

afmiami

I don't know about the future of Air Dolomiti, but they look pretty solid. They recently updated their fleet with new generation Embraer (195). I often fly EN/LH VRN FRA or MUC and viceversa and the service is excellent, decent food and always smiling flying attendants. I understand LH is a major shareholder but I don't think they will merge into LH

hch

Just to clear things up: EN is 100% owned by LH, and LH consideres them part of LH regional, although in some respects they stand out a bit from the other regional partners, e.g. by the different livery, interiors and Italian-style service. They also different in that they actually offer a few flights that are EN and not LH coded, but those are the exception. I wouldn't fear for their existance, they seem to be doing very well in the Nothern-Italy-Germany market and feed the LH lounghaul flights very well.

I really enjoy their service, especially now that I've noticed driving or taking the train from INN to VRN can be absolutely worth it for the long-haul fares from VRN.

Concerto

This is all very interesting and good to hear! They sound a nice airline, and it is good that they will be part of the LH family, although somehow independent. I really had hoped to use that MXP-DRS flight, though.. probably no chance it will be reinstated?

Which routes are actually operated with the EN code? I think none of the other Lufthansa Regional partners use their own codes, do they?

A300flyer

Right, EN is the only one to operate flights under their own responsibiliy, but the number of these flights is more and more declining. However, EN as written is 100% LH, and is nothing more like Lufthansa cityline in Italy. It's a production unit for LH for several years now, so the possibility to have them on changing routes is very high. In July for example I had them on a flight VIE-MUC, although first an IQ and then a CL aircraft was planned. The decision to operate with another livery has/had different reasons. First there was the reason of cheaper salary, as they have always been operating as an Italian company out of Lufthansa tarriffs and so an upcoming discussion with unions should have been very unlikely. (Now it's no issue any more anyway). Second reason was to please the huge amount of Italian customers of Lufthansa. Italy has been (I think)the/one of the most important foreign markets for LH and so at time of takeover the brand was kept as it had a very good reputation in Northern Italy (where the money is based in Italy)
Service is Italian style often being tied to regional Italian products. C Class is very good, Y is also of quite nice quality although I like the rest of the day snacks better than the fatty croissants you sometimes get in the mornings. Good coffee and wine

livious

I can agree to this, at least on the KLU-MUC route. Not much in terms of food on this route, but they usually make 2 offers on the wine. Staff has always been top notch. I would not mind seeing them expand more in Austria.

fivesixseven

I flew MUC-VCE a couple of times this summer with Air Dolomoti, and I was always pleased with their service. The 'snack' was always a desert (served around 3:45 p.m.), and the quality was the best when it was the chocolate one. Flights were not that full, except for the last one.

Concerto

Well, I've just been having a trawl through the website and online timetable, and it seems that the only EN-coded flight left is Verona to Vienna. Previously, there was the MXP to Dresden flight, which is disappeared. But there was also Rimini, which seems to have totally disappeared (I think there was MUC-Rimini and VIE-Rimini). Any reason for this reduction? Will the Vienna flights disappear too?

MACH81

Rimini should be a seasonal destination, Summer. Even though the city has expanded into a good Conference venue, it's know for its beaches (not great if you ask me) and nightlife.

The founder of EN is an enterpreneur that has a passion for luxury. After selling to LH, he started looking into luxury hotels and has opened a fantastic resort on the Lake Garda (Lefay Resorts).

I live between VCE and VRN and actually prefer LH mainline out of VCE (much nicer airport) but when I've flown out of VRN on EN to MUC I've always had great service. Pet peeve of mine: they seem not to be blocking the seat next to SENs, not always anyway.

kathycali

Traveling next week ALB-ORD on UA; ORD-MUC on LH; MUC-VCE on Air Dolomiti?????

Anyone been on this carrier? If so, any opinion about the equipment, service and how to get a seat assignment? How strict they are about carry ons?

Thanks, k

SFOSpiff

I flew Air Dolomiti MUC-BLQ in May. I seem to remember it being a new, clean plane (ERJ 190 I think). No problems with service, that I recall. As far as carry-ons, be aware that RJs have smaller overheads, and that European airports are sometimes more strict about carry-on policies. We boarded via stairs so it's harder to hide an oversized carry-on out in the open.

This was a Lufthansa coded flight booked directly with LH and I think they pre-assigned a seat, but I don't remember for sure. It should be analagous to flying UX here, so you can probably change your seat on the website.

milepig

Air Dolomiti is a perfectly reasonable little airline, I actually quite like their service.

They flyer smaller planes so you'll be limited to the normal baggage restrictions since regular sized carryones won't usually fit. You'll get your BP with a seat assigment from LH when you check in at ORD, or possibly at MUC. UA will not be able to give you a seat assignment, unless things have recently changed.

MW_2000

I flew Air Dolomiti a couple of years ago between MUC and VCE and it was an ATR-72 turboprop; I believe they still operate both those and the EMB-195 on that route.

The ATR was comfortable and service was very good - I remember that it had an unusual configuration with business class in the rear rather than in the front.