Alitalia Magnifica

[jimmyb59]

We are taking Aliatalia Magnifica class in 2 weeks from LAX to Rome and wonder if anyone has done this lately? I am hearing mixed reviews.

Thank you for any feedback.

[Zach1213]

I haven't (personally I've never flown Alitalia longhaul, or at least I don't remember) but my colleague is a Skyteam guy and did Magnifica on an Alitalia 777-200 (I believe that's what usually does LAX-FCO) on FCO-GRU about two months ago.

 

His report was that it is decent. Note this is coming from someone who is an extremely frequent longhaul Business Class traveler, so he has a lot to compare it to. He said seat was good - if you're alone, get a window seat; if a couple, get the middles (it's a 1-2-1 setup). Food/drink was good. Service was okay. Inflight Entertainment was okay, nothing spectacular. I believe, though, that Alitalia is a bit like Iberia or BA...when they're good, they can be really good...but they can be very, very inconsistent (service and food wise) so you can get something really good, or really disappointing, and you sadly won't know until you're onboard.

 

(I say "report" because we often write up short one or two paragraph internal memos, for lack of a better term, about flight experiences...our own internal trip reports, if you will. As a team we are constantly on the road so having reviews by like-minded people comes in handy as we come across new airlines and aircraft types when we're deciding how to get to/from our destinations)

Edited July 1, 2019 by Zach1213

[jimmyb59]

Thank you... I appreciate the quick response!

 

[slidergirl]

It wasn't recent, but I did Magnifica class round trip JFK-FCO maybe 4 years ago.  I have to say, up to the point, it was the best business flights I had.  I had a cozy window pod on both the 777 and the 340 (or whatever the Airbus wide body was).  I actually slept for awhile, which is unusual for me, on the lay-flat with a nice comfy comforter.  The food both ways was very good - served in courses.  The attendants would come by with a cart and you could choose from several selections and they would plate it right there.  The wine was decent and the attendants made sure my glass was not empty until I wanted it to be empty.  Nothing special about the entertainment - but I never find anything special about onboard entertainment.  The amenity bag were nice - one for women and one for men.  My bag was a nice Ferragamo clutch with Ferragamo Tuscan Soul products.  Now, my old hotel used Tuscan Soul products in the guest bathrooms, so I was familiar with them.  

 

I've flown Delta, Air France, Czech Air in Business.  Alitalia was the best so far that I've experienced.  

[Zach1213]

14 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

It wasn't recent, but I did Magnifica class round trip JFK-FCO maybe 4 years ago.  I have to say, up to the point, it was the best business flights I had.  I had a cozy window pod on both the 777 and the 340 (or whatever the Airbus wide body was). 

 

Would have been a 330, to my knowledge Alitalia has never had the 340.

[FlyerTalker]

Here's a trip report with many photos of the onboard product.

 

https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2017/10/13/alitalia-777-business-class-review/

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

Here's a trip report with many photos of the onboard product.

 

https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2017/10/13/alitalia-777-business-class-review/

 

What an excellent review!  Four observations/comments:

 

Alitalia handles their Business Class bedding much better than does Delta.  Flying on Delta, one gets to their seat with their seat already occupied by the bedding package.  One then has to find a way to store it.  (I put mine in the cubbyhole where my legs/feet ought to be able to stretch out.)  The design of Alitalia's seats, particularly with the shelf on the seat's aisle side had a nice storage area for the bedding.  I like that.

 

Second:  I admire your ability to be able to consume the food that you were served.  On a Singapore Airlines flight from SIN-HKG-SFO, dinner was served leaving Singapore:  a rib-eye steak that was too well done, but other courses were very good/excellent.  After leaving HKG, I had pre-ordered another meal for Supper.  I had to cancel that on-board and have only a couple of courses, one which was a sandwich, and dessert.   (Why?  There was little "room at the inn" left from dinner.)  And, then a light breakfast prior to landing at SFO.

 

The cuisine served certainly looked very appealing and was attractively plated for the most part.

 

The self-serve beverage area certainly was bleak in comparison to Delta, Air New Zealand, or Singapore Airlines.  Maybe due to their financial condition?

 

Thank you for a great review!

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

The review was not mine.  I was merely posting it for reference and information.

 

[Zach1213]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

On a Singapore Airlines flight from SIN-HKG-SFO, dinner was served leaving Singapore:  a rib-eye steak that was too well done

 

I've completely given up eating any kind of beef on planes because it's utterly impossible to get it anything less than "well-well-well done". It's a worthless battle. Honestly, I stick to vegetarian dishes 90% of the time on flights, the consistency is much better.

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

The review was not mine.  I was merely posting it for reference and information.

 

 

Regardless, it was most informative and I appreciate that you chose to post this report.  

[GeezerCouple]

6 hours ago, slidergirl said:

It wasn't recent, but I did Magnifica class round trip JFK-FCO maybe 4 years ago.  I have to say, up to the point, it was the best business flights I had.  I had a cozy window pod on both the 777 and the 340 (or whatever the Airbus wide body was).  I actually slept for awhile, which is unusual for me, on the lay-flat with a nice comfy comforter.  The food both ways was very good - served in courses.  The attendants would come by with a cart and you could choose from several selections and they would plate it right there.  The wine was decent and the attendants made sure my glass was not empty until I wanted it to be empty.  Nothing special about the entertainment - but I never find anything special about onboard entertainment.  The amenity bag were nice - one for women and one for men.  My bag was a nice Ferragamo clutch with Ferragamo Tuscan Soul products.  Now, my old hotel used Tuscan Soul products in the guest bathrooms, so I was familiar with them.  

 

I've flown Delta, Air France, Czech Air in Business.  Alitalia was the best so far that I've experienced.  

 

We had an experience very much like this, and also about the same time frame.

 

We had traveled the year before in Prem Economy, and that was okay (but it was also when I realized that my aging bones were getting too achy on longer flights, and this didn't mean ultra-long-haul, alas).

The next year, we did the same anyway.  However, Alitalia had an equipment change, and ... we ended up getting Magnifica class both directions at no extra cost!  Wow.

We also loved the way the dinner was served, and the food was *good*.  Flight attendants were very pleasant and helpful.  Sleep was quite comfortable!

GREAT flights.

 

And we joke to this day that it was a sort of "the first one is free", to get us "hooked" on flatbeds 

That was when we decided, OK, time to start using these awards points we've been accumulating!  And we've never looked back (except for short domestic flights).

 

Our premium international flights since then (all with awards) have been in F, so that's not a fair comparison with Alitalia Magnifica (especially not for JL or CX F, which were extraordinary... especially CX!).

 

But if Magifica hasn't changed much in the past few years (and we have no idea about that for now), then we'd definitely consider it!

 

GC

[slidergirl]

8 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Would have been a 330, to my knowledge Alitalia has never had the 340.

You are correct.  I was having a senior moment and could not remember 330.  I had 320/321/340...