ITA Airways has received its first A321neo – brand new from Airbus in Hamburg,
The Italian airline is leasing the new Airbus A321neo from Air Lease Corporation. The Irish-based company is leasing nine A321neo to ITA Airways, all by late 2025.
Most European airlines flying the A321neo like British Airways and Lufthansa have a simple two-class layout with lots of seats. BA has 37 rows with up to 210 passengers. LH has 39 rows with up to 199 passengers.
ITA Airways has configured its A321neos very differently. They have three classes with a mere 165 seats, including 12 lie flat Business seats.
The plan is to use the new aircraft on medium-haul routes from Italy, particularly to the Middle East. That explains the three-class layout.
The new A321neo will enter the fleet in a few weeks.
This latest addition means that ITA Airways has an all-Airbus fleet of 81 aircraft, including latest generation A220, A320neo, A330neo and A350 aircraft.
Cabin layout and features
The ITA Airways A321neo has 165 seats in a three-class layout:
- Business, 12 full flat beds over 6 rows in a 1-1 layout, meaning all have direct aisle access.
- Premium Economy, 12 seats over 3 rows in a 2-2 layout
- Economy, 141 seats over 24 rows in a 3-3 layout. 12 seats have more legroom and are called Comfort Economy.
I recently flew economy on a new British Airways A321neo from Gatwick to Ibiza and back. I picked row 27 to have a chance for a bathroom trip and was pleasantly surprised by the space and comfort of the seat.
So the the ITA Airways version looks pretty good.
Cabin features
ITA Airways’ A321neo aircraft features Airbus’ Airspace cabin design, which includes new XL overhead bins and customised interior lighting based on the latest full-LED technologies to help reduce jet lag.
All seats have the latest generation in-flight entertainment system with individual screens and on-demand content.
Passengers will enjoy a wide selection of movies, TV series, music playlists, interactive games, and 3D interactive flight map.
Passengers can use the WiFi system to connect with their own device to the in-flight network and to text, surf, or stream content. They have to pay for this.
Airbus A321neo
The A321neo is the largest aircraft in Airbus’ A320neo Family, offering unparalleled range and performance.
By incorporating new generation engines and Sharklets, the A321neo brings a 50% noise reduction and more than 20% fuel savings and CO₂ reduction compared to previous generation single-aisle aircraft.
Having the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky, the aircraft is the perfect contender for maximising comfort.
To date, Airbus has more than 5,500 A321neos ordered by customers across the globe.
