ITA Airways is for the first time since it started operations serving the London City Airport (LCY) to Milan Linate (LIN) route withe its own aircraft. Since starting November 2023 ITA has started using its brand new Airbus A220-100 on the route for flights AZ218, AZ220 e AZ226. Here’s the lowdown.
ITA Airways Operating With Its Own Planes the London City Airport To Milan Linate Route
For those not aware of the fact, ITA Airways took where the prior Italian flag carrier, Alitalia, failed. During the transition from the old company to the new company the airline completely restructured its operations. A large part of its staff was made redundant and the fleet was significantly streamlined.
While Alitalia used to operate a multi manufacturer fleet, ITA now operates an all Airbus fleet. This was done in order to reduce costs and simplify operations. However this meant also getting rid of the smallest planes available at the time in the fleet, the Embraer E175 and E190. Coincidentally were also the only planes the airline owned capable of serving the very peculiar London City Airport (LCY).
Those small E175 and E190 were to be replaced with the A220-100, which however took some time to join the Italian flag carrier’s fleet. To avoid losing their slot at the airport ITA were therefore forced to hire in wet lease suitable planes to operate the Milan Linate to London City Airport Route.
Initially the Italian airline subcontracted the route to German Airways and later to Eastern Airways. Both airlines that specialise in wet leasing and own Embraer E190s. Clearly this is not an optimal solution for an airline trying to build a brand and make its brand recognisable.
However on October 31st ITA finally took delivery of its very first A220-100 and can now use it for this lucrative flight.
The New ITA Airways Airbus A220-100
So as we already said the latest addition the Italian flag carrier’s fleet is the small but versatile Airbus A220-100 (originally known as the CS100). The plane was delivered to ITA on October 31st 2023 at the A220 assembly plant in Mirabel-Montreal Canada. From there the little plane had to make its way across the Atlantic Ocean to reach its new home in Italy. It finally entered service on November 2nd 2023 on the Milan Linate to London City Airport route (LIN-LCY).
The cabin interiors have been designed and produced following the specifications of ITA so it is a plane bespoke made for them, carrying their clear brand identity starting from the stunning electric blue livery. On board each seat has a USB charging slot and Wi-Fi is available upon payment.
The new A220-100 has a passenger capacity of 125 seat on a full load. The cabin has a 1 class configuration with business class consisting of the middle seat being blocked and a higher dining experience. All throughout the plane seat are setup in a standard A220 2-3 layout.
The Schedule of the Milan Linate London City Airport Flights
| Flight Number | Departure Airport | Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Code | Arrival Time | Flight Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | AZ218 | Milan Linate | LIN | 07:00 | London City | LCY | 07:55 | 1hr 55min |
| AZ219 | London City | LCY | 08:30 | Milan Linate | LIN | 11:20 | 1hr 50min |
| AZ226 | Milan Linate | LIN | 12:15 | London City | LCY | 13:10 | 1hr 55min |
| AZ227 | London City | LCY | 13:45 | Milan Linate | LIN | 16:35 | 1hr 50min |
| AZ220 | Milan Linate | LIN | 17:40 | London City | LCY | 18:35 | 1hr 55min |
| AZ221 | London City | LCY | 19:05 | Milan Linate | LIN | 21:55 | 1hr 50min |
Moving on from now all flights to and from London City Airport operated by ITA Airways will be aboard the A220-100. At the moment the airline owns only 1 A220 but in coming months other 6 planes will join the fleet.
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