Premium economy products vary considerably. Often, the most premium thing about it is the over-inflated price tag for an experience that’s only marginally better than economy. This isn’t always the case though – done well, premium economy can be a great option. I was curious to see where ITA would sit on the scale.

Although they may seem familiar, ITA is in fact a realtively young airline. Formed in 2020 as Alitalia’s successor, they’ve been on an interesting journey. It’s seen them leave SkyTeam to join Star Alliance as Lufthansa continues to increase its stake in the airline. What this will all mean for ITA in the future is still to be seen, but in terms of onboard experience, I discovered there’s much to like about Italy’s flag carrier and the ITA premium economy experience.

After a hectic few months, I was excited to spend a couple of weeks in Thailand. ITA were offering some very good fares from Italy to Bangkok in premium economy. I was able to find return flights from Linate (via Rome) to Bangkok for €870 return. I was happy with the price, but I’m always slightly sceptical about whether premium economy is worth it. Mediocre experiences on Iberia and Finnair have taught me not to expect much!

Airport Experience

We started our journey in Linate. Our tickets booked into ‘Premium Classic’ and this includes a 23kg bag, which was checked through to Bangkok. Our connection in Rome was 3 hours with our flight to Bangkok scheduled to depart at 15:15. I found connecting through Rome surprisingly straightforward and would have no hesitations doing so again.

Premium economy doesn’t result in a particularly upgraded experience at the airport. Apart from boarding slightly before economy, there isn’t a great deal of difference.

If you have Star Alliance Gold status you can use ITA’s lounges in Rome regardless of the cabin you’re flying. ITA also offer the option of buying access if your ticket doesn’t include it. For flights outside of the Schengen area, ITA operate the Piazza di Spagna lounge. It’s a decent enough space – but I wouldn’t make a particularly special effort to access it. It did the job for a couple of hours though.

ITA Premium Economy Cabin

Initial impressions were excellent. I really like the design and feel of ITA’s premium economy cabin. It’s not business class, but it feels like ITA have gone more for a business minus than economy plus feel. This was my first time flying on the a330 neo and I really liked it.

There are 24 premium economy seats on ITA’s a330 in a 2-3-2 layout. The cabin feels spacious and because of the winged headrest design, surprisingly private too.

On the outbound, we were seated in row 2 of premium economy in seats 21a and 21c, while on the return we had the bulkhead seats in row 1 – 20a and 20c. I much preferred row 1 – with unlimited legroom, and a pretty decent level of recline, it definitely felt closer to business class than to economy. The amount of space was impressive.

That’s not to say row 2 was bad, but when the seat in front is reclined, you do feel more closed in. This said, it still feels like a considerably better experience than standard economy.

Each premium economy seat features a cocktail table, while the tray table extends from the armrest. Overall, the appearance is sleek.

ITA Premium Economy Amenities & IFE

IFE is delivered through a 10.6 inch screen, which is also 4k. Although I typically only use the moving map feature, the image quality was excellent.

Each seat comes with a universal power adapter, as well as a usb-c port.

Amenties were basic, and this is where ITA’s premium economy becomes somewhat weaker. No amenity kit is provided, and both the pillow and blanket were basic and felt the same as economy. While ITA could make more of an effort, because the hard product is relatively strong, it didn’t hugely detract from my experience.

Wifi is available. ITA offer 30 minutes of free messaging. If you want anything more substantial than this, you need to pay. I enjoy being able to disconnect on long-haul flights, so the free 30 minutes was sufficient!

ITA Premium Economy Cabin Food & Drinks

ITA serve a pre-departure drink in premium economy – prosecco, orange juice, or water. This is a nice touch, and while most airlines do offer this service in premium economy, others such as Finnair, do not.

ITA don’t provide a printed menu and there is no option to pre-order before departure (unless you require a special meal). The options were pretty standard –  chicken or a vegetarian pasta.

In terms of food quality, it’s more economy than business. Indeed, it wouldn’t surprise me if the same food was being served in economy. In premium, however, meals are presented on china and proper glassware is provided. I give extra points to ITA for this,

As for the meal itself, there was nothing wrong with it even though it was more economy-like. Again though, it’s important to keep expectations realistic – I wouldn’t expect gourmet dining in premium economy. Instead, I expect something that’s of a decent quality, and appropritate for the flight duration – and ITA easily delivered this. The quantity provided was good – much better than my recent experience with Finnair!

Drinks were available throughout the flight, and although a little slow, service was warm and friendly. I also thought it a nice touch that proper glassware was used throughout the flight, including between meals. The only exception to this was the welcome drink.

A couple of hours prior to arrival breakfast was served. This was identical to economy – both the ingredients and the presentation. It was essentially a selection of different carbohydrates.

I’d have preferred something a little more healthy, but to be fair to ITA, as far as pre-packaged snacks go, it wasn’t all that bad. It’s worth noting too that ITA provide nespresso in premium economy – and for me, a decent coffee is the best breakfast!

Conclusions

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience with ITA. I don’t mind admitting that they exceeded my expectations. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Overall though, ITA deliver a far better experience than some of their European rivals. While the soft product could be improved, the cabin itself has been very well designed, and it’s a clear upgrade when compared to the standard economy product.

Sleeping was easy, and I managed around six hours on this flight. To be honest, I doubt I’d have slept much longer in business. Considering the price I paid, I was happy with the experience. Indeed, I enjoyed my trip with ITA far more than equivalent premium economy products on oneworld carriers such as Iberia or Finnair – both of which offer (in my opinion) questionable value.

Unfortunately for me, ITA’s transition from SkyTeam to Star Alliance probably makes it less likely I’ll travel with them in the future. I don’t travel enough for maintain three different alliance memberships – but if it wasn’t for that, ITA would be a preferred option for me.