Background:
This is the final leg of my trip to Rome: a peak at the Magnifica Class aboard Alitalia’s A330. There were three flights that I had earmarked on this trip as ‘highlights’ (ironically, none were operated by EY); this will be the first of those highlights. Alitalia has an excellent reputation for catering (maybe the only thing they have a good reputation for, let’s see if this report changes your mind…), so I was excited to experience this aspect of their product.
Before we delve into this report, I want to present this photo (taken while boarding my plane in Part 6) that shows a bold company ideology. Remember this statement as you read through this report: “Proud to show the best of our country with passion.”
Refer to Part 1 for the detailed introduction. As a reminder, the routing is as follows:
Part 1 – NGO-PEK [EY 889, Airbus A330-200, Business] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-9850.html
Part 2 – PEK-AUH [EY 889, Airbus A330-200, Business] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-9878.html
Part 3 – AUH-FCO [AZ 853, Airbus A330-200, Business] – You are here
Part 4 – FCO-BRI [AZ 1607, Airbus A320, Economy] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-9934.html
Part 5 – BRI-FCO [AZ 1616, Airbus A320, Economy] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-9968.html
Part 6 – FCO-BEG [AZ 592, Airbus A320, Business] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-10012.html
Part 7 – BEG-AUH [EY 72, Airbus A319, Business] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-10036.html
Part 8 – AUH-PEK-NGO [EY 888, Airbus A330-200, Business] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-10305.html
Pre-flight:
As I mentioned in Part 1, despite being an Etihad ‘partner,’ seats on AZ-operated flights could not be pre-selected at the time of booking. Or could they? I regularly checked to see if this option was available online since I really wanted one of the 4 window seats. Nothing in the lead in to the trip, but then out of the blue 72 hours before departure, a seat map appeared! And it was completely empty, which had me eerily suspicious that this was some kind of mistake, but I didn’t hesitate to snag 4L. Checking in at Nagoya, I was indeed handed a boarding pass for 4L, so AZ honored that seat selection.
The second thing that this seat map confirmed is that I would be on one of the newer A330s and would get a flatbed seat. AZ alternates their older and newer A330s on this route since it’s not true “long-haul,” for example, the day before I flew it was with the older angled lie-flat seats product so I got lucky.
Fast forward to March 22. After circulating landside to officially set foot on Emirati soil, it was time to get back airside quickly since I had less than an hour before my flight for FCO started boarding. I opted to walk over to the dedicated EY Business Check-in area to get into a Fast Track line for immigration/security. The line doesn’t look too bad at this hour. I was quickly processed and it only took about 15 minutes to filter back into the airport.
Entering the terminal, it has your typical shopping mall feel with high-end duty-free shopping in abundance. I didn’t have much time and there was some confusing signage. I thought the sign said that due to construction, the only Lounge was located way out in Terminal 3 so that’s where I headed.
The airport was extremely crowded at this hour and it felt as if the airport was not built to handle this quantity of passengers. The airport is clean, but it is definitely showing its age and the new terminal will probably provide a much better experience (although probably even more shopping…). The walkways in the terminal felt very narrow, which was compounded by all of the quarantined boarding areas.
Arriving at the EY Premium Lounge, there was a line of about 10 people trying to get in. Getting up to the counter, I was politely welcomed and the gate agent looked at my boarding pass and told me I should go to the Terminal 1 Lounge instead. I told her I just wanted to stop in briefly, and then asked her the estimated walk time to my gate. Walking into the Lounge, it looks big, but it was absolutely packed! I couldn’t even find a place to sit. With a laundry list of flights to Europe about to depart, it’s no surprise there isn't a lack of premium customers. I just grabbed a coffee, stood in the corner (okay, that sounds a little bit creepy…), logged into the WiFi to get the corporate shot, and then left. The place was just crawling with people, not a very good lounge experience… Boarding documents photo taken on my previous flight since I didn’t have time (or space) to retake the photos in the lounge. Also, I completely forgot to take a picture of the departures monitor, so feel free to complain about that too in the comments section. I do like the advertisement in my FR corporate shot: Meet UAE Singles!
Washing that bad taste out of my mouth, I head off towards the futuristic 80s designed Terminal 1, which unfortunately took me back through the traffic jam in the shopping mall.
As I’m walking towards the Terminal 1 area, I spot this beautiful AB A332 waiting for its departure to Düsseldorf. We’ll see her again later in the FR since she takes off right before us.
Walking into Terminal 1, my first impressions are that it looks very dark and drab, but here is your standard photo of the architecture inside. The waiting area is completely jammed pack with people sitting around since there were imminent departures from almost every gate. Whoever designed this terminal probably doesn’t have a job anymore. I just squeeze through the traffic to get to Gate 3, where my flight will be departing from.
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Alitalia, AZ853
Equipment: Airbus A330-200 [EI-EJI, “Canaletto”, delivered May 2011]
Departure: 9:00 (ATD: 9:15)
Arrival: 12:40 (ATA: 12:26)
Flight time: 6:11
Arriving at Gate 3, there is a secondary document check. This small little waiting area has maybe 50 seats, which is nowhere close to sufficient for the two A330s that will share this boarding area.
Boarding started about 5 minutes after the time indicated on my boarding pass. There are no queues for boarding in this area so there is some confusion as to where priority boarding is and where general boarding is. Business/SkyPriority boarding is announced and the gate agent asks all general boarding passengers to move to one side to allow boarding to commence. Priorities were respected despite this congestion in the boarding area. Down the jetbridge we go! The windows of the jetbridge are a little dirty, but I can still get a decent shot of the nose of Canaletto.
Entering through 2L, there are two male FAs who without smiling give a “buongiorno.” Not the warmest of welcomes, but they point me through the galley and tell me to turn left. Walking into the AZ business cabin, it looks almost identical to the EY cabin I just flew in. The all grey tones are very boring, some colored accents here and there could make it look a little bit more lively. Again, the overhead bins were removed from the center of the cabin making it a much more open space. It’s a small little cabin with only 5 rows so it feels very intimate and private. This is a pretty young plane, so the plane looks overall in good condition (from a distance…).
Here is Seat 4L, where I will be residing for the next 6.5 hours. On the seat are located a duvet and pillow in plastic wrap. Looking at the seat, you can see that it is definitely beginning to show lots of signs of wear, the seat is leather and it is not aging well. All the products (duvet, napkins, tablecloths, etc.) are all branded Frette, if you are an Italian textiles buff (pititom probably frequents hotels that use these linens).
Settling into the seat, the pitch is the same as that on EY given the identical seat. The side table is much bigger than that on EY, which makes it a much more useful to place things in-flight, but the drawback is that you get less privacy since your seat is more exposed to the cabin and people diagonal to you can better see what you are doing, so no nose picking.
Same as on EY, the universal power and USB connections are located below the tray table. Both worked on this flight. The seat controls and the remote control for the IFE are both located on the side of the center console and are easily accessible. Seat functions are little bit more basic than what EY has, but has everything you honestly really need. Under the arm rest is a little storage area where A/V inputs are located as well as some crumbs that the cleaning crew did not clean up. Taking a peak in between the seat and the wall, it looks clean enough for a plane that is making a quick turnaround.
Looking out the window, we have an EY A332, our brother from another mother, as a neighbor who is being refueled. Some detail shots of her, like a close-up of the winglet with artistic takeoff in the distance and a close-up of the vertical stabilizer with EY logo.
An FA then arrived with a tray of pre-departure beverages that were limited to water and the poisonous red fruit juice they serve. Even though it was already afternoon in Japan, I accepted the fact that it was still before 9am in Abu Dhabi so breakfast drinks were in order. Since there was no orange juice on offer, I settled for a half full (or half empty?) glass of water (I promise I didn’t drink out of this before taking the photo). Two sips later and we can see the bottom of the glass adorned with AZ logo. No refills were offered on pre-departure beverages nor were any sort of nuts or other pre-departure snack.
Let’s take a look at what is on offer in the magazine rack… Everything seems to be in order there, flipping to the back of Ulisse we can see that we are in one of the twelve A330s that adorn AZ’s fleet. And now your hand model will give you a tour of the safety card of this A330.
A lucky look out the window catches this shot. Okay, no telephoto lens for this one, but I promise if you blow up the photo it is actually a JU A319, which is your teaser for Part 7 of this series.
Oh, my, what a long fuselage you have! An EY A346 is at a remote stand right behind our plane. Next to her is an EY B772 that I can watch getting backed up.
At this time, the FAs came through the cabin to distribute menus, noise-cancelling headphones, and amenity kits. Let’s start by taking a look at the amenity kit.
Oh wait, that’s not the amenity kit; that was the suitcase that required musical storage bins in order to make room for it above the passenger’s seat. Here is the actual amenity kit provided by Salvatore Ferragamo. There is a sleep kit with socks, eye mask, and earplugs. Other hygiene products such as a toothbrush/toothpaste, Gillete razor, and Mentos breath mint (not sure why mine was the only kit that got this…). There are also four products from Salvatore Ferragamo’s Tuscan Soul line: cologne, lip balm, shaving cream, and face cream. A pretty complete selection, but it lacks a pen. Why is a pen important? You’ll see shortly.
The FAs then passed through the cabin with a press offering. I took a New York Times International Edition, which proved useful for this flight.
Push back is eminent as our tug shows up outside of the window. It looks like we will be leaving late today.
The ground crew slowly walks us out onto the tarmac giving us a really good luck at the previously mentioned EY A346, an EY A333, and an EY A320 in a special all black livery for the Abu Dhabi GP. I’ve never seen this livery before, but thought it looked really good, too bad I couldn’t get better shots of it.
As we head out towards the runway, we can see right up the rear of this EY A333 as well as a nice tail line-up at the remote stands of EY and EY ‘partner’ airlines. Including a great view of the EY A332 in “Blue Moon Rising” special livery for Manchester City FC (this plane operated the NGO-AUH route the day before I left, quite disappointing to miss it).
There was some sort of sand storm starting up during the taxi so it started to get hazy at ground level, or maybe it’s just sand being kicked up by planes on their ground movements. Either way, it makes for some dramatic shots on the long taxi out to the runway that I timed at 24 minutes. First up are a 9W B737 with winglets and a SV E170.
As we continue our seemingly never-ending taxi, we see a couple of B777s belonging to an EY and 9W, which finally brings us to this shot of the AUH crescent moon control tower in a sandy haze before crossing a EY Cargo A332F.
Finally reaching the runway, we see this intruder occupying the runway. Never heard of Abu Dhabi Aviation before (and couldn’t even find an IATA code for them), but this is one of their Dash-8s heading down the runway.
In front of us, now visible as they reach the runway threshold is the AB A332 that I saw back at the beginning of this report heading to Düsseldorf. The AB livery looks really good on the A330 body. We see her turn onto the runway, and then begin her powerful run down the runway as we approach the threshold.
As we line up on the runway, we can see that we were being followed by an EY B773. This is probably my favorite photo of this report; she looks beautiful in the sand haze with the control tower in the background and those big GE90s showing prominently.
As we begin our run down the runway; we get a glimpse of this EY A333 in special “Abu Dhabi 2014” livery that flywunala took last month taxing to the runway. Conveniently painted so that they can just repaint the door to make it 2015, if you look closely.
As we begin our lift off, we can see this EY B777 and HM A330 taxing in the sand storm. Then we get another aerial shot of the control tower before we rise up over AUH offering some last second spotting opportunities.
As we turned and continued our rise towards the Persian Gulf, we can admire the roads down below. It’s great that the UAE has embraced the cloverleaf highway interchange. We soon reached the coast and spent some time over water before the cloud coverage started.
Reaching cruising altitude, I started to play with the IFE. The screen is big enough and the quality looked good. It’s an identical product to EY. The provided headphones are much better than those provided by EY, I tried these out briefly and they felt comfortable and were adequate. I briefly cycled through the offerings, then started up an episode of “How I Met Your Mother.” Exactly 40 seconds into the program, the IFE froze. I can be very precise of the time because the remote froze too. I flagged down a FA making a pass between galleys, told them about the problem, and they said they would restart it. The start-up sequence initiated, got to the final part, and then froze again. This is the lovely screen that I would get to enjoy for the remainder of the flight.
So, when this problem happens, there are a couple of options. Since the cabin was completely full, switching seats was not an option. The other option is that the crew could apologize for the mistake and try to offer something to help alleviate the situation. Apologies? That’s clearly not in the AZ handbook. When I pointed out that it was still frozen, the crewmember shrugged their shoulders and walked away. Not even a single word was spoken, are you kidding me??? I had to take some deep breaths because I am not one to engage in confrontation on an airplane.
Soon after, the meal service started up and hot oshibori were distributed. These are very thin and are of poor quality, definitely not Frette. Let’s take a look at this menu. On the back of the menu, they proudly show off their award for best catering for the fifth consecutive year. There’s a little blurb about their catering ideology at the start of the menu. This meal should hopefully take the sting out of the IFE fiasco. Or will it? Turn to today’s offerings, and my stomach just sinks, another breakfast… This is a tricky flight time slot. Do you offer a full breakfast and light snack at lunchtime? Or do you offer a light breakfast and a full lunch prior to arrival (flight lands at 2:40pm AUH time)? They went with the undesirable option. That said, this breakfast doesn’t sound too bad. Let’s play a game, how many typos can you spot in this menu?
We are somewhere over Iran when the meal service finally begins.
The FAs come through and lay out the linens and give a very familiar Magnifica Class place setting. With the very classy red ribbon adorning the napkin. They come through by cart and offer drinks, I was tempted by the venomous red serum that AZ serves and figured the flight couldn’t get any worse so I tried it. As every AZ report on the site states, do not drink this. It is very chemical tasting and maybe the best comparison is that it almost tastes like Hawaiian Punch. The tableware is provided by Richard-Ginori for those that are interested.
After the drink service, the FAs then come down the aisle with a trolley and deliver a fruit plate and offer a selection of breads and croissants. I take a roll and a croissant. Please note that at this point in time both of my glasses are empty, which is exactly as they will remain for the remainder of breakfast.
The croissants were good: flaky and warm. The fruit plate was good, with a nice quantity. The crew then made a second pass through the cabin offering tea/coffee/espresso and more bread. I took a cup of coffee and another croissant. It was at this point I started to think that this breakfast service might not be so bad after all (minus the complete omission to offer refills).
After the fruit plate and pastries were finished off, the table was cleaned and the FAs began their famed trolley meal service. There were several family style trays on the trolley from which plates were served. I was not asked what I wanted, my plate was simply taken from my table and this is what was given to me. The bread was cranberry bread, it was okay. The “apple” omelette was cold and I don’t see or taste apple. The pea pudding tart tasted okay, but was really dry and this is when I could have used some more water. The bread brittle with cabbage and salami was slightly warm and was the best thing on the plate. I thought portion sizes were very small, so I was expecting a second pass of the trolley, but that certainly didn’t happen.
Overall, I felt that this was a very underwhelming meal. I finished everything, but was still hungry thinking that these light sandwiches pre-arrival were going to be even worse! I never saw cereal or yogurt, which were both listed on the menu. Who knows where those were…
Outside there was some heavy cloud coverage forming, so I headed off to the lavatory at the front of the plane. Just like on EY, the A332 has a very small lavatory where you can’t stand vertically and use the restroom. The lavatory was clean, but no products were present, just some Alitalia brand hand soap.
Getting back to my seat, I see that a water bottle was delivered along with the AZ staple: a plastic cup. Keeping it classy.
At this point, I noticed that most of the cabin was gathered in the rear galley. I noticed this earlier in the flight, but it seemed like about half the cabin all knew each other and were looking at iPads with photos from some banquet. Not just any banquet, but something involving EY and AZ. My guess is that most of the people on this flight were AZ affiliated and were coming back from some meetings with EY. This also explains why the crew seemed to give them special attention and hovered around their section of the cabin more frequently. Thanks for taking care of the paying customers.
After working on my crossword puzzle for a bit (luckily the NY Times was offered pre-flight and I had a pen in my backpack), I decided to just call it a day and sleep. Having had poor sleep on the previous flight, it was much needed. Even though these seats look very worn, they were very comfortable for sleeping and I got almost 4 solid hours in, waking up somewhere over Croatia? I’d be able to tell you exactly, but that would require a working IFE… Also, no surprise, but the empty water bottle that I placed on my side table before going to bed was still there, and still very much empty.
Lunch service prep was beginning to start in the lavatory, so I made a quick dash to the lavatory at the back of the J-cabin that sits just in front of Y+. This bathroom was much larger, still clean, but still lacks any sort of products other than hand soap. Leaving the lavatory, I saw some water bottles lying around in the corner of the galley and asked one of the Y+ FAs if I could have one, he gave it to me with a smile, wow, the first smile I’ve seen on AZ!
Back to my seat, the trolley is now coming down the aisle. Food is imminent! Don’t ask me why, but the second meal service was done in the dark even though we were an hour from arrival and it was a daytime flight. Also, the washing machine must be broken because there were no linens for this service: no oshibori, no tablecloth, and regular paper napkins.
First was the trolley with sandwiches. Again, I wasn’t asked what I wanted from the selection, I was merely handed these two lousy sandwiches. Following the trolley, was a drink cart where I asked for a water, coffee, and a beer. I was handed the water and coffee, then the FA opens up the cart, looks, gives an audible “sigh,” and then tells me she’ll have to get the beer from the galley. She comes back with a beer and a glass and hands it to me. I almost felt like I needed to apologize for making her do her job. No choice of beer offered, so it looks like it will be Ichnusa for me! A beer that I have never heard of before.
Let’s take a closer look at this offering. On the left we have a club sandwich, which tasted good. On the right was another sandwich, if you can even call a piece of bread with the smallest amount of meat and lettuce in it a sandwich. No surprises, seconds were not offered even though the trolley was over 50% full when it passed me and I was the second to last person to be served.
But the pièce de résistance! A hard chocolate chip cookie in a plastic bag! This screams Magnifica catering, right?
Right after the meal service, the whole front of the cabin disappeared into the galley again, for another secret meeting. This gives me a chance to give you a picture of the seat in a relax position.
I sat and read the inflight magazine while I drank my beer after that pathetic lunch; it had an article about the new flights they were starting for the EXPO.
Surprise, surprise! We had an espresso service just when I least expected it. I will certainly toast to the end of this flight. Still nothing to be seen outside, just a sea of clouds as we begin our final descent.
The cabin was being prepped for landing (note the nonoperational IFE) as we dipped down to the cloud line. Can anyone identify this track?
We then cruised back into the Mediterranean for a landing from the west. We then ran parallel to the coast where you can see a small regional airport in the distance before turning back towards the coast.
In the final descent, we can get an aerial view of Cobra’s summer residence before starting to cross over the town of Fiumicino.
It was starting to rain a bit, so photos started to become more difficult, but we can clearly see the countryside below us as we cross the Tiber River and head into FCO.
We had a smooth landing slightly ahead of schedule. After touching down, we can already start to do some spotting. We pass by the fire station, and then in the distance we can see a BA A321 lifting off.
Our taxi brings us past some remote stands filled with AZ narrow bodies.
We then pass by the headquarters for Poste Italiane, “Losing mail since 1862.”
We weren’t getting any closer to the terminal, so I started expecting a remote stand as we continued our taxi through a sea of AZ narrow bodies. We eventually made a sharp turn into a remote stand next to this very interesting AZ A319 in “Friuli Venezia Giulia” special livery.
A last look at my seat to prove that I am a good traveler and leave my space as clean as I found it.
Deplaning through 2L down the stairs. Half-hearted “arrivederci” by the crew on leaving. I don’t care anymore, I’m more interested in these tarmac photos.
Business class passengers got their own bus, which quickly sped off to the terminal as soon as the last passenger boarded. The bus ride to the terminal gave lots of spotting opportunities. Up first is another look at the AZ A319 in “Friuli Venezia Giulia” special livery. We then pass by an AZ A320 in “Muoviamo chi muove l'Italia” special livery. There is then an AF A321, W6 A320 with winglets, LH A321, DY B738, and U2 A319. These may seem like mundane planes for most of you, but not for an Asian based FRist.
Then, we come to this 25 year old beauty, a Meridiana MD-82, brings me back to the good old AA years. Followed by a plain old VY A320.
Arriving at the terminal, we disembark and head back into the terminal. The airport seems very dark, but we continue heading towards passport control. The Miu Miu ad in the distance makes me feel like I never left Japan. It took about 10 minutes to clear immigration, the line moved very quickly and I soon found out why. My turn comes, the agent takes me passport, takes one glance at the photo page, then flips to the back, stamps it, and then hands it back to me without saying one word or even looking up. I like this casual European immigration, sure beats the US and the unnecessary fingerprinting in Japan.
Heading into the baggage claim area, we can see that my flight strategy worked perfectly. My friend's flight from JFK arrived just a fraction before mine. The bags actually came out before the indicated time and mine was the second one off. With no customs to declare, I was fending off taxi drivers in no time as I made my way to the train station.
I took the LeonardoExpress to Roma Termini for €14 since my flight did not qualify for Etihad Chauffeur service. As they claim, EY will only provide chauffeur services for EY-operated flights; ‘partner’ airlines do not count. The train is nonstop service and takes just over 20 minutes to make the journey. Seat pitch on the train is not so good…
After that disastrous experience with AZ, it was finally time to begin vacation. There was no better way to start vacation than with an early dinner post-arrival followed by a S.S. Lazio game.
After a week in Rome, join me again as we take a look at some AZ domestic flights. They may be mundane flights, but the reports will be worth your time.
Thanks for sharing !
Your report is, again, very well documented and full of sharp pictures.
It seems that your experience on AZ long haul J is the worst one posted on FR.com. ;)
This definitely was an horrible flight : No service, no entertainment and bad food. I bet you would have got a better time in Y+ or in Y. ;)
After this you might be tempted to fly CA again for your next trips to Europe. lol
See you for the next leg.
Merci pour tous vos commentaires!
At least CA, as with all Asian carriers, has a minimum service standard. It's part of their culture, they'd never shrug their shoulders and walk away from a customer. I wonder how the hotel AZ would give me would compare to your CA hotel for a diverted flight^^
I'm sure the Y/Y+ catering for the second meal was identical (or better!)^^
I have no interest in flying AZ long-haul J again even though the seat was comfortable for sleeping. This was my worst experience of the four AZ flights I had, each one was a very different experience depending on the crew.
Heyy !
Thanks for haring this report !
As I always comment your trip, i'll see another time : your pictures are wonderful ! What a quality !
As you mentioned, AZ is catastrophic ! Catering is very light and not well presented.
As far as I'm concerned, I really do like the cabin.
Generally, Italian FA are not very kind... Unfortunately.
See you,
Merci Mathieu!
I appreciate your comments. The catering seemed very light. The main for breakfast was only four hors d'oeuvre that could each be eaten in a single bite (you can use the butter dish as a reference for size). It was not a substantial meal. The two sandwiches were also very small and didn't taste very artisan. It's not what you would expect from AZ.
Cabin colors are all personal preference, but what matters to me is the comfort of the seat on a long-haul flight. Even though this was a leather seat (I prefer cloth), it didn't feel sticky and I slept well.
AZ crew are generally not friendly, you are correct. It's not just that they don't seem friendly, it seems like that they don't enjoy their jobs. The next flight had an okay crew, minus one crew member who I will talk about in the next report. On the third and fourth flights, I had friendlier crews.
This Flight-Report is simply amazing !!!
It's really great to read and I was simply blown away by the pictures !
Thank you so much for sharing this experience, now I'm going to read your other FRs ;)
Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting!
I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed reading my report :)
I try my best to give good reports with lots of commentary/criticisms that make the reader feel like they were there too. Along with good photos in-flight and of spotting at the airports. I'm not a big lounge person, so I usually don't include too many photos of them.
Awesome TR. Thanks for sharing. Loved the pictures :)
Thank you very much for the compliment and for reading the report!
Thanks for sharing this report with us. A very disappointing flight with AZ. I did the same flight in business last year and the flight from FCO to AUH was excellent with a very good catering and an excellent crew. I personally liked the cabin and the seats and my IFe was working well.
On my way back I had the same type of service that you had although my crew did better with you and more food was offered regarding the sandwiches.
Consistency is very important in terms of customer experience and Alitalia does not seem to be able to provide good service two flight in a row. that's a shame as one expect better from Italy and a partner of Etihad !
Merci Christophe!
I read your report on FCO-AUH before going on this trip, so I had good expectations, but it was not meant to be on my flight :(
I liked the seats, even if they were old looking. This plane is only 4 years old, but the seats look much older than that! AZ hard product is good for long-haul, they just have an inconsistent soft product.
I think my meal and IFE ratings could be higher if I had an excellent crew since a good crew could help improve aspects of a flight that aren't very good. Unfortunately, the stars aligned and I got a bad AZ crew on the same flight that I had IFE problems and an average catering experience.
This was hands down my worst AZ experience. The next three flights all had better crews, but they still varied a lot! It shows that there is no consistency in the airline. Every time you fly AZ, you roll a dice to see what you are going to get, it's almost like a game show! And I lost on this flight...
Thanks for sharing this FR
Plenty of gorgeous pictures as usual and a very pleasant text
So we have the answer now : at the AZ lottery you had the Magnificatastrophe
Even the lounge experience was bad
It seems to be the same seat as OZ's
that was the suitcase that required musical storage bins in order to make room for it above the passenger’s seat
Of course it's a Louis Vuitton suitcase : the owner didn't want to have it far from his/her eyes ;)
Why is a pen important? You’ll see shortly.
Oh you are travelling without your own pen !
This is probably my favorite photo of this report; she looks beautiful in the sand haze with the control tower in the background and those big GE90s showing prominently.
Unfortunately not with the new livery
This is the lovely screen that I would get to enjoy for the remainder of the flight.
Ha Ha nobody has been more welcomed by AZ than you
Why didn't you ask for more food or refill ?
A beer that I have never heard of before
Hopefully it was not the same company that was providing the blood orange juice ;)
I usually don't like breakfast on board and of course this one is even not a breakfast lol
A last look at my seat to prove that I am a good traveler and leave my space as clean as I found it.
So I usually did too
I like this casual European immigration, sure beats the US and the unnecessary fingerprinting in Japan
Ironic I presume :)
Oh you are a Lazio tifosi !
See you soon for a domestic AZ flight
Thank you for your comments 007!
Yes, I lost the Magnifica lottery :( It was a Magnificrap experience.
EY Lounges at AUH were crowded both times I went, it seems that with construction, one of the lounges is closed so more people are crammed into smaller spaces.
Yes, the seat style is identical to OZ's Smartium product with the larger side table.
I would have asked for more food, but the FAs disappeared into the galleys after passing through with the food and were completely absent throughout the flight. They seemed completely disinterested in interacting with me, so I didn't even want to push the situation after the IFE incident. Anyways, I am in a premium cabin, I should have to ask for service... it should be offered to me. It just shows how little their crew care about their customers. You will see in the coming reports how the personalities of the crews fluctuates rapidly on AZ.
Ichnusa became a running joke of the trip since it showed up a couple of times at restaurants. I was just so surprised when that was the beer that was handed to me. It was good (for an Italian beer), it just doesn't get exported to the US like Nastro Azzurro or Peroni or Birra Moretti.
I had no idea that was blood orange juice, that makes sooooo much more sense now (I'll explain why in Part 6, lol).
The main of the breakfast was very poor. Four pieces of finger food do not constitute a full breakfast service. If they are going to do finger food, then a second pass of the trolley should be made. I felt like I almost received two snacks instead of a full meal and a snack.
A lot of times, you see people just throwing blankets, pillows, and trash all over the place in business class. That's not the way your mother would raise you to leave your seat.
Forza Lazio :)
Awesome report and thanks for sharing this entertaining segment of your trip.
Walking into the Lounge, it looks big, but it was absolutely packed! I couldn’t even find a place to sit....
- It is during times like this that one is tempted to pull the fire alarm and watch everybody run like cockroaches when the light is switched on.
Entering through 2L, there are two male FAs who without smiling give a “buongiorno.” Not the warmest of welcomes..
- An ominous sign that sets the tone for the rest of your flight.
The all grey tones are very boring, some colored accents here and there could make it look a little bit more lively.
- As cheerful as a funeral home. I agree that some color is needed. Perhaps green or red, to give it a more patriotic feel.
Looking at the seat, you can see that it is definitely beginning to show lots of signs of wear, the seat is leather and it is not aging well.
- Not only it is not aging well, but for some reason I find it narrow. How I miss the wide premium seats of the past. Yes, the new crop of seats in J are lie flat and can turn into ironing boards (or beds), but at what cost? It seems that comfort and space is sacrificed for novelty. SQ got it right when it comes to J seats.
Since there was no orange juice on offer, I settled for a half full (or half empty?) glass of water (I promise I didn’t drink out of this before taking the photo).
- Isn't water conservation something that the ecologically conscious strive for? At least AZ seems eco-friendly, and that is looking at the glass half full instead of half empty. ;)
Apologies? That’s clearly not in the AZ handbook
- I guess in their minds they did not create the problem, so they should not apologize.
When I pointed out that it was still frozen, the crewmember shrugged their shoulders and walked away.
- A sign of resignation to one's faith and the realization that sometimes it is useless to fight the little disappointments that life throws at us. A display of indifference at its best. In other words I don't care.
.. and hot oshibori were distributed. These are very thin and are of poor quality, definitely not Frette.
- Perhaps the supplier for AA and BA tried to expand and offered AZ an offer that they couldn't refuse.
Oh, my, what a long fuselage you have! An EY A346 is at a remote stand right behind our plane.
- Who said size didn't matter?
..actual amenity kit provided by Salvatore Ferragamo.
- Nice kit, although I think that the older version was better. Hey, at least it has brand name cosmetics and Tuscan Soil is a pretty decent line. Some of their competitors do not put so much emphasis on the quality of the cosmetics. Too bad about the lack of a pen. You mean they did not come around with them when they pass the forms like they do on SQ?
I was tempted by the venomous red serum that AZ serves..
- You mean it is not fresh squeezed blood orange juice? At least the red accentuates the dining set nicely and matches the ribbon on the utensils. You can't complain about style flair here. Nice looking set of salt/pepper shakers. Reminds me of those therapeutic Chinese balls that I used to exercise the hand.
Let’s play a game, how many typos can you spot in this menu?
- Menues. Perhaps the person who wrote it was thinking in French instead of English. It happens to a lot of us.
I was not asked what I wanted, my plate was simply taken from my table and this is what was given to me. The bread was cranberry bread, it was okay. The “apple” omelette was cold and I don’t see or taste apple. The pea pudding tart tasted okay, but was really dry and this is when I could have used some more water.
- I must admit that I was a bit taken back by the originality and creativity of the breakfast menu. Apple omelette, bread brittle with cabbage and salami and pea pudding? No wonder they received Best Airline Cuisine award for five years in a row. :P Too bad there was no ketchup offered with the omelette.
I never saw cereal or yogurt, which were both listed on the menu
- Maybe they were expired and the crew took action to prevent a potential food poisoning incident onboard.
..at this point in time both of my glasses are empty, which is exactly as they will remain for the remainder of breakfast.
- Just unbelievable! I hope AZ management reads this report.
Again, I wasn’t asked what I wanted from the selection, I was merely handed these two lousy sandwiches.
- How efficient!
Sorry to read about your experience. It sounds that you were magnificently disappointed.
Your comments are always greatly appreciated jetsetpanda!
I really wish it was a magnificent Magnifica experience that I could share today, but it just wasn't meant to be...
Even green piping on the seats at the seams would be subtle enough to add some flair to the cabin. They grey isn't terrible, like those DL seats, just nothing special.
Water conservation must have been put in effect at AUH since it is a desert. Airlines were probably facing water rationing. Also probably explains the lack of linens for the second meal service, they didn't have enough water available to do laundry so they opted for the disposable paper napkins.
I don't care is exactly the AZ crew mentality on this flight. They had no interest in engaging with me, I think I spoke no more than two words to any single crew member. Everything was a yes or no question or what do you want to drink? They were no where to be seen outside of meal time. Always in the galley, I never saw cabin passes (also evidenced by the inability to switch out water bottles mid-flight). I shouldn't have to ask for a refill, it should be offered unsolicited. I can't even remember the last time I was on a flight and a glass was removed from my table without an FA asking if I wanted another? or if I was finished? To only pass through the cabin three times with drinks on a >6 flight is terrible (first meal, second meal, and the surprise espresso before arrival). Maybe this is also how they saved water: less drinks = less trips to the bathroom = less flushes.
There were no forms for EU entry. KE also gives out pens when the forms come out (I was actually using a KE pen on this flight since that's the one I had in my backpack). I agree, the older Bulgari kit seemed like it was better stocked, but this was a vast improvement over the EY kit.
As I just told lagentsecret, I had no idea that was blood orange juice. That explains so much... I kept asking for orange juice on my flight in Part 6, and they kept giving me that stuff, I was sooooo annoyed. It doesn't change the fact that it is chemical tasting. I doubt freshly squeezed since I saw it poured out of a normal supermarket-available container.
I was going for the coffe instead of coffee, but I'll give you seven points for your answer.
That's true, sometimes too much bacteria culture is a bad thing... I'm glad they spared me that yogurt.
I hope someone at AZ does read this, but if they are anything like this crew, then they'll just shrug their shoulders and close the window.
I sent a claim letter to EY about the IFE so we'll see what that turns up. I figured any complaint about service is just he said/she said so I didn't even bother bringing that up.
This flight got most of the AZ filth out of the system, so the next trips will gradually start to get better.
Thank you very much for the FR! Excellent quality.
I was reading in detail your comments and I have to agree. I flew AZ not long ago from NRT to FCO on Y+ and yes the crew are not friendly at all to say at least, catering was mediocre but the worse is the crew! Once again as I can see no one offered a refill of drinks, choice of main courses or just being attentive to the needs of a Business Class passengers, rather gathering for a nice chat in the galley or with other fellow AZ employees flying from AUH on company business.
This is why I am turning down a Y+ trip to ICN I booked for a very very low fare some months ago because I would not enjoy at all the long flight with the lame AZ crew and service with a cherry on top of the catering!
Thanks for the very detailed explanation of AZ's demise.
Since I took JU on the BEG-AUH segment of this trip, it was very interesting to see how EY has influenced their soft product. I was hoping that the EY influence would also be felt with AZ, but I guess based on what you said, that will never come true. It is true, on all four flights with AZ, I don't recall seeing an FA younger than 40 (even on the flights to/from Bari). There is definitely an old order feel to the AZ crews that won't be washed out anytime soon.
Yes, you'd have to damage your liver 'on arrival' since you wouldn't be getting any service in-flight, lol :P
Thanks for the reply NGO! Indeed, I will explain a bit the history of this lame service from AZ. As we all know, AZ was a state airline and what we have today is the long lasting episode of a management that has been below the line of terrible. Decades of allowing many issues coming along including the selection of crew (basically if you had a close friend on a some key position you were allowed in the company without any selection. If you were a friend or family of a captain on a long haul fleet aircraft you were accepted without any hesitation to a first officer position on the short haul aircraft, on some cases we have even seen junior pilots jumping straight away to the long haul wide body fleet without any seniority)
So that gives you the idea of Alitalia, for us this company is a shame for Italy and we oftenly blame it for cancelling flights,strikes ruining our travel needs and holidays or just receiving a rude and uninterested service.
In my opinion , I sincerely doubt Etihad will change this as they can't fire crew or key customer service employees because of union protection. Alitalia cabin crew is tired, have been with the company for decades and they truly believe they are a sort of management on the company and have the right to treat even its clients as their morning mood decides. I think you can agree with me on this feeling? They are not there to serve, but they are there just to fill a position and get a nice chat between them and enjoy the fancy layover with its respective dinner say Miami? New York? Tokyo?
I am aware of the very generous value of AZ on Flying Blue, but on my case I will reach Platinum this year with or without that AZ trip so I will pass on an 11 hour Y+ service so to avoid a damage to my liver upon landing :P
All the best,
GC.
Giancarlo, thank you for taking the time to read my (long) report and commenting!
I remember reading your report right before I left on this trip. I never imagined that their service could be so bad since I was used to flying in the USA (known for great service, lol). As an Italian, you must feel embarrassed about the way these AZ crews represent your country to foreigners. Their behavior is not representative of the Italian people at all. Outside of the one pass through the cabin for meal service, the crew was nowhere to be seen. They were always just hiding in the galleys. When they were in the cabin, they just seemed disinterested in their jobs or the passengers. If it was a fantastic crew, and I had a lackluster meal and a broken IFE, then my scores would probably be different, but this crew just seemed like they hated being there and that just made the whole experience bad.
Y+ mileage hauls are usually a good value, but if you are going to hate the 12 hour flight, then is it really worth it? This was only a 6.5 hour flight, I couldn't imagine being stuck with this crew in an aluminum can for a longer period of time.
Thank you NGO85,
Just a little reply, because i'm not very fluently in english :))
You experienced the dark side of Alitalia, unfortunatly.
A long haul flight without pasta on AZ is more than a shame...a blasphemy !:)
Catering on Az on this flight was the complete opposite of italian cuisine, no generosity, no great mix of flavors and textures...
Don't be so virulent with the poisonous red venin,it is just aged in a garbage truck during 5 years :)))
You just see one of my numerous palace in Italia near Fiumicino,but prefer staying modest ^^
See you in Palese^^
Yes there is a light side...but only light with a shivering candle...for the moment ^^
Merci pour tous vos commentaires, Cobra!
Votre anglais est meilleur que mon français^^
I knew you could not resist an AZ report^^
You experienced the dark side of Alitalia
Is there a light side of AZ???
No hot meal on a long-haul flight is blasphemy, indeed.
it is just aged in a garbage truck during 5 years
So that is how they get the rich, yet complex flavor that makes it so sought after. They must have served me the 2012 vintage^^
I am just happy that I beat you to a report on Bari ;)
Well...the hard product is nice...I guess that's about it, lol. A good crew can often make up for a less than perfect hard product, but a bad one can also ruin the experience of a good product. After the attentive crew on EY, it is a shame to come back down to earth with such a lazy and uncaring crew. Looks like EY needs to teach a thing or two on customer service to their new partner. And you didn't even get to enjoy AZ's normally good catering. Despite the crappy service, this was a very entertaining and humorous read! Hope you complained and got at least some miles for the IFE.
Yes, it's good to be objective. Even on a bad flight there are always good aspects. And when you're an AvGeek, you're just happy to be in the air anyway :-)
Let us know the response from EY, I imagine they'll throw you a bone. Now that you have status, they should be responsive, although time frames for responses are usually long. I was spoiled when I was Platinum with DL, if ever I complained, I got a response the next day. As Executive Platinum on AA I just waited about 3 weeks for a reponse to a complaint--granted I was happy with the response, it's still way too long in my opinion.
Kevin, it was just one of those flights, where it just kept snowballing. When it rains, it pours with AZ.
What's done is done, so I can definitely look back and laugh about it now. I made sure the report was complete and was not just a rant on AZ service. There were good aspects with AZ and I tried to point that out too. Based on what Giancarlo said, doesn't look like EY can clean AZ's house. AZ has aging crews based on what I saw, so there might be some glimmer of hope for the future.
Complaint was filed with EY last week using my status, lol, still waiting on my reward.
Thanks for this nice FR.
Great sporring pics in AUH and FCO.
Somehow even with the decent catering and the good seat, AZ doesn't appeal to me, mainly because of that feeling of disturbing the poor exploited crew working for this airline.
I undertsand it's not every crew member at AZ, but you do get 50% chance to have such a crew on this airline.
Thank you for your comments.
50% is correct, of my four flights: two were bad crews and two were good crews.
I'm not going to be going out of my way to fly with them again, that is for sure.
Hello NGO85,
Oh my gosh, I have never considered flying business on AZ before and after reading your report, I think I will avoid it and make sure I am never ticketed on AZ when booking with EY.
This is almost the reverse of OZ :) lol new seats - old disinterested crew, Compared to OZ - old seat - great crew.
Maybe AZ deserves 5 star rating on skytrax too?
Seriously though, I don't think EY knows whats in store for them, this is a deep problem in AZ and it won't be fixed overnight. Look at what happened when EK invested in Sri Lankan Airlines and tried to change the airline.
EY is going to have to drag AZ by the teeth, kicking and screaming - hay at least they display some personality :)
Anyway the cabin and seat color, it looks like a hospital. why so bland? Italians are known for creativity and fashion, D&G, Versace, blah blah blah and then AZ grey cabin = hospital operating room. AZ uniform = prison uniform.
I just hope EY can renew and refresh AZ, they can be a uber cool, chic and sexy airline, even for a small country.
Just look at Air NZ, and how they position themselves. New Zealand is a tiny country but their national airline is seeing as cool and chic.
Thank you very much for stopping by this thorn in my side!
This is almost the reverse of OZ
- Maybe their powers should combine and form Captain Planet? or at least a respectable carrier...
I don't think EY knows whats in store for them, this is a deep problem in AZ and it won't be fixed overnight
- If you read Giancarlo's comment up top, he talks about the history of AZ's corruption. After this experience, I was scared to fly JU, but JU was almost a mirror image of EY so it is possible for EY to change a carrier, but AZ is too big a of a beast to tame quickly (or at all).
then AZ grey cabin = hospital operating room. AZ uniform = prison uniform.
- Yeah, it's a very sterile looking cabin, but not as bad as the old DL cabins with those bright blue seats. The AZ uniforms are 'supposedly' Giorgio Armani, but certainly don't look it. Short sleeve dress shirts and ties always make me cringe. Although if you want to talk about bad uniforms, look no further than OZ, lol. Who knows that they were thinking with those weird brown short sleeve mock turtlenecks.
Very good point about NZ, that is a great example of how an aircraft's image is unique and fresh and really makes people interested in flying their product and visiting their country. AZ doesn't do Italy tourism any favors...