Summary
- ITA Airways has officially begun operating its recent Airbus A321neo aircraft between Rome and London.
- The aircraft will adds more frequencies in the course of the busy travel season surrounding Christmas.
- The airline considers the A321neo to be a technological benchmark and a logo of its commitment to exclusively operating Airbus aircraft.
Italy’s flag carrier, ITA Airways, has officially began operating its newest aircraft, the Airbus A321neo. The jet has been deployed between Rome and London and commenced service on December 1st. This entry-into-service comes lower than a month after the jet was delivered to the airline.
Along with London, the aircraft will probably be deployed between Rome and Paris over the Christmas holiday travel period. The airline said the A321neo its all-Airbus fleet and is a
Flight details
While ITA marked Friday, December 1st, because the official starting date of the A321neo service, the aircraft has been flying the route on most days over the past two weeks, as per data from Flightradar24.com. The plane, registered as EI-HXA, has operated AZ 204 from Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport (FCO) in Rome to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) since November 16, flying between the 2 destinations on daily basis aside from November seventeenth, nineteenth, and twenty ninth.
On Friday, AZ 204 pushed back from gate E16 at 14:05 local time and was airborne quarter-hour later after taking off from Rome Fiumicino’s Runway 25. After over two hours of flying, the aircraft landed on the UK’s busiest airport at 15:33 local time, arriving at gate 15 nine minutes later, in response to FlightAware.
Photo: ITA Airways
For the return journey, the aircraft left Terminal 4 at LHR at 16:55 local time and took off from Runway 9R roughly 20 minutes later. EI-HXA touched down at FCO at 20:20 local time and pulled into its gate at 20:29.
More aircraft on order
From December twenty second to January ninth, ITA will deploy the aircraft type on three every day frequencies between Rome Fiumicino and Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG). Flights originating from FCO will depart at 08:35, 15:05, and 21:30 and are scheduled to reach at CDG at 10:45, 17:15, and 23:40, respectively. Originating from CDG, flights back to FCO are scheduled to depart at 06:10, 11:45, and 18:10, with arrival times at 08:10, 13:50, and 20:15, respectively.
In response to ch-aviation, EI-HXA is ITA’s first of nine A321neo aircraft set to affix its fleet. The plane flew for the primary time on October 10 and was delivered to the carrier on November eighth. Its striking interior, designed by Walter de Silva, embodies what the airline calls . The aircraft accommodates 165 passengers, featuring a business class of 12 fully lie-flat seats, 12 seats in premium economy, and an economy class of 141 seats, with 12 considered “Comfort Economy” seats.
All Airbus
On Wednesday, the carrier spoke in regards to the significance of its recent aircraft type.
“For ITA Airways the A321neo is the benchmark for technology, digitization, innovation, efficiency, and made-in-Italy design on the medium-haul. It features the award-winning Airspace Cabin, providing the best levels of comfort and increased space, latest-generation seats, recent ITA Airways custom interior lighting system, and XL overhead bins.”
Photo: ITA Airways
It’s unclear when ITA will receive more of its A321neos on order, however it is probably going soon, with its plans to introduce the aircraft on additional frequencies at the top of the month. The airline currently has 82 Airbus aircraft in its fleet, comprised of A220, A320neo, A321neo, A330neo, and A350 plane types.
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