Aircraft information:

Type: Airbus A319-111

Age: 12 years 

registration: EI-IMM

Flight-time: 44 minutes 

Lounge Option:

Boarding:

Seat:

So I was the first to board the ITA Airways A319. After a warm welcome, I found a 3-3 seating in which the middle seat was blocked. There was a table of sorts there that could be used as a storage area or armrest. On this flight, business class spanned 3 rows. The seats didn't look modern and a bit dated. The seats were clean, but looked really old fashioned in parts. On the other hand, they were quite comfortable, as they were relatively well upholstered. The seat pitch was okay, but not great. What I noticed right away is that the seats do not have a pocket at the top, but only have a pocket for the safety card at the bottom, so you can not clamp an iPad in the top. 

Welcome:

From my point of view, it is also very noticeable that the previous owner Alitalia is very recognizable despite the exterior repainting, as the logos on most of the equipment items have not yet been adjusted.

Takeoff:

Inflight:

After a really fast takeoff due to the quite empty cabin, we turned towards Milan. 7 minutes after takeoff the service started. 

The curtain to the rest of the cabin was drawn and I tried the recline. 

Meal service:

After the seatbelt signs were turned off, I was asked for my drink request. After a good 10 minutes in the air, breakfast arrived with my drinks. The breakfast consisted of two warm rolls: A typical Milanese sweet roll and a savory roll with cheese. This was accompanied by a small bowl of canned fruit and an Actimel. Shortly after, each guest got a second small bowl of fruit. This time it looked very fresh. The overall taste was good. I really liked the large fruit components. What needs to be said is that breakfast is generally a very heavy meal on the plane. One major drawback was the low-quality plastic cutlery: I had to press the knife hard to cut the soft canned pineapple (Perhaps sustainable cutlery would be possible here?). In general, the packaging was more of a rest stop feeling instead of business class feeling. There was also no cleaning cloth for the hands.

Inflight views:

Approach and Landing:

Normally you have a good view when approaching Milan Linate. SmallTip: Always sit on the left side, because there is only one prescribed approach direction. So we made our way between the high cloud towers over Milan and then made a very large left turn. The approach above the clouds was very shaky. Only just before breaking through the cloud cover was the cabin prepared for landing. This was done very quietly so that

Disembark:

Baggage claim:

After a short ride in the terminal arrived, one reaches directly the baggage claim. Since I traveled on this route only with hand luggage, I can not say more here.

Rating:

For 149€ each way, this was a great deal for business class, as Lufthansa charges a good 250€ each way for the same flight dates and (similar) routes to Linate and MXP. I can recommend ITA Business Class on this route if you want a quick transfer from A to B. With fastlane and lounge at STR it starts very relaxed. One major flaw is that check-in doesn't open until two hours before departure, and as far as I know none of the other Sky Team members will check you in as a Business Class guest. There is also only one check-in for everyone, which I think is a shame. Otherwise, everything went smoothly and quickly. If you can get by with little service - you can't expect too much here - except a free middle seat. Al well  lounge technically it is not that convincing. One of the main reasons why I chose this flight is that Lufthansa is trying to buy 41% of ITA. I am curious what will change then with the Lufthansa changeover and what we can currently expect from ITA. Also like to look at the return flight, what I can say, There have been some surprises here. And why Linate is perhaps not the best choice after all. Here soon more. So this flight got 20 out of 30 possible points

• Seat     

Comfort                    8/10

Cleanliness             6/10

Recline                     9/10

Table                         8/10

Seat width                    9/10

Seat distance         7/10

Seat setup matching flight time          8/10

Working ergonomics             8/10

Sockets (USB A Charger)        0/5

Can hold an IPad    0/5

Free Middle Seat    10/10

Seat Pocket             8/10

Assignment to the Rest of the Cabin           10/10

Result         7,6/10

Plus points:      -

Result seat:       7,6

• Lounge 

Lounge rating        10/30

Plus points:

Two lounges (1) 0

Result lounge:  3,3

• Plus points       

WLAN (2)          0

• Crew    

Friendliness            22/25

Service                      23/25

Presence                  24/25

Language                 22/25

Result :       9,1/10

• Ground handling          

Class based check in        0/20

Fast track / immigration     30/30

More baggage       15/20

Priority boarding   15/15

Boarding and disembark    7/15

Result ground handling:      6,7/10

• Amenities       -    

• Food    

Selection   0/10

Quality      10/20

The taste    15/20

Sufficient quantity   18/20

Drinks       15/20

Refill      7/10

Result :       6,5/10

Plus points:

Hot-Food (1)     0/1

Snacks (1)         0/

Pre-order availability (1)          0/1

Food result:      3,2/5

• App      

         Online check in      20/25

Seat choices          15/15

Add-on options     10/15

Functions              5/15

Traveling information       5/15

Apple wallet         15/15

Result (5):         3,5/5

Plus points:    -  

Result app:       3,5/5

Total results business class short haul:  20/30