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After arriving at Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO) on a disappointing Delta Air Lines flight (review here), we hopped on our ITA Airways connection to Reggio Calabria Airport (REG). Thankfully, the flight was short and uneventful.
Anthony’s Take: ITA Airways is now part of Star Alliance and largely owned by the Lufthansa Group. Star Alliance Gold benefits are available for eligible passengers, but this did not impact us in any way since we were connecting. The flight crew was friendly and the seats in row one offered a good amount of legroom. I was surprised that we were only given cookies or crackers to eat as I have become accustomed to European airlines providing a tray on even the shortest flights in Business Class. Check-in was easy online and I was able to get boarding passes right to my Apple Wallet. Wi-Fi did not work on the flight either. It was installed, but never connected (not a huge issue for a short flight, but uncompetitive in 2026).
Booking
I booked two Business Class tickets directly on ITA Airways website for around $190 each. Economy Class was around $122, so the premium was worth it for more space and to not have to argue with the gate agents around cabin baggage (they were measuring and weighing several passengers bags at the gate).
Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO)
We had enough time to visit ITA Airways Hangar Lounge (review here) while at the airport. We grabbed some coffees before heading to the gate. I love the design of this lounge and the food is quite good.
Boarding
We arrived at the gate around 15 minutes before boarding began and there were lines of people mixed all over. The gate agents straightened this out and boarded in the correct order. All passengers had to take buses to the plane. I really hate remote stands, but it is what it is.
Seats
The bulkhead seats provided plenty of space We were in seats 1A and 1C (1B was blocked). These are standard Economy Class seats with the added space of no passenger in the middle.
There were individual lights and air nozzles overhead. There were no USB or standard AC outlets provided.
The seats only function was to recline.
Food
The food on foreign carriers usually impresses me. They are generally able to serve a full meal in the time it takes US airlines to serve water. That was not the case today. We were served a beverage and a choice of cookies or crackers. This seemed to be the same as Economy Class. I had the cookies and a blueberry juice.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi was supposed to be available for purchase, but it never connected.
Lavatory
The lavatory was what you would expect on an Airbus A319 with no amenities.
Service
The flight attendants were indifferent. They mostly stayed in the galley for the short flight.
Overall Impression:
This was a short flight, but a bit meh. Food and Wi-Fi would have made it better. Other than space and baggage, there was not much differentiation between Economy and Business Class here.
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
