L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano " Welcome Air Italy:" this announcement - showing on the SFO website home- page at the beginning of April - might have caught some travelers by surprise. Surely not the Italian American Commu- nity who had been waiting for a di- rect flight between SFO and Milan Malpensa for a long time. Last year, flights operating between Oakland and Fiumicino started by Norwegian Airlines - addressing the need of those visiting Southern and Central Italy - Rome, Naples, Lecce, just to mention a few cities - whereas now, thanks to AIRI- TALY, Venice, Turin, Verona can be easily reached by train or car from Malpensa. In 2019, Air Italy announced a range of new routes between North America and Italy, however the de- cision to connect California and the north of the Italian boot got the at- tention of both leisure and business travelers. San Francisco and Los Angeles have now weekly flights to what is considered today's most important economic and tech hub of the Bel Paese. Southern California welcomed the inaugural flight that took off from Malpensa Airport and landed at Los Angeles International Air- port on April 7th, marking the very first West Coast flight for the one- year-old airline. As Consul General in Los Angeles, Silvia Chiave, un- derlined the day of the inauguration "this flight will allow to enhance the existing touristic and commer- cial opportunities, as proved by the SERENA PERFETTO movies or listen to some music, there is a wide choice of options (not as many Italian movies as ex- pected on a flight to Italy though). Surfing the internet can be some- times spotty (you are still traveling over the ocean) but at least it is available throughout the flight. Overall, leaving the Bay Area on a sunny, spring evening made a real difference. You will love the view of the city, as well as Ocean Beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. The experience was quite sur- prising also when traveling back to California from Milan, on Econ- omy cabin. If you are coming from Milano Centrale, you can reach the International terminal at Malpensa in one hour or so. If you want, you can enjoy the Lounge located right before the gate, which makes it convenient for announcements/ gate changes. Once onboard, I was nicely impressed by the new and cleaned aircraft: seats were com- fortable, not too narrow (18 inches wide) however I wish the overhead bins had more room for carry-ons. Given the eleven hours in the air, with departure at 1.30pm, the menu in Economy includes lunch and a brunch. The first is served after de- parture (usually a meat dish with veggies, dessert, a glass of wine, and coffee/tea - in my case I had pasta as vegetarian option, fol- lowed by ice-cream as refresh- ment); the latter is available before landing and includes either meat with potatoes or scrambled eggs, both served with yoghurt, fruit salad, bread and jam, and coffee/tea - juice, of course. The entertainment is surprisingly inter- esting, with some of the latest movies available throughout the flight, music, and games. After watching a movie and sleeping, we landed into SFO at 4.40pm, almost half hour earlier than estimated. Compared to many other air- lines, what makes Air Italy flight outstanding is the quality of the service: from the design of table- ware to the comfort of the seat in the Business cabin, from the qual- ity of the food to the well trained crew also in the Economy cabin, Air Italy looks at passengers not only as customers but as people to take of throughout the flight, no matters which fare they paid for. Getting the SFO-MPX flight operating was the result of an effort between different players: not only Air Italy itself, but also San Fran- cisco Travel, the City of San Fran- cisco, the Italian Consulate. As highlighted during the Press Con- ference, San Francisco is well known for innovation and sparks interest among Italians, therefore a direct connection between the two countries will provide them with the service they deserve. San Francisco, according to SFTravel CEO D'Alessandro, welcomes one thousand travelers a year and mak- ing this flight successful can only strengthen ties between Italy and the Bay Area. increased interest of Californians towards Italy and the growth of ex- changes in all fields." The new flights from LAX are four times weekly (Wednesday, Friday, Sun- day, Monday) and are operated by Air Italy's new Airbus 330-200, offering 24 seats in Business and 228 in Economy class. For San Francisco, instead, the wait was a few days longer, with the inaugural flight landing at SFO on Wednesday April 10th at 5pm. On the same note, the Consul Gen- eral in San Francisco, Lorenzo Or- tona: "We are very excited. The Italian community has been wait- ing for almost 20 years after the route was closed in 2001. The cre- ation of a direct flight has been one of the main goals of this Consulate. Not only is this important for our community, but also for business, tourism, and investors of Califor- nia. Milan is one of the top high tech districts of Europe with in- credible investment opportunities, like bio-tech, industrial design, and food tech just to name a few. The Milan district has incredible uni- versities and research centers and is perfectly connected to all the other Italian and European main cities." And ended: "We hope the flight will be successful to the point it will become soon a daily option. It will definitely be a further boost to the relations between the Bay Area and Italy, with even more Italian tourists coming to this won- derful part of the United States." The new flights from SFO operate four times weekly (Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Tuesday) with Air Italy's new Airbus 330- 200 offering 24 seats in Business and 228 in Economy class. L'Italo-Americano had the op- portunity to experience the first flights from San Francisco to Mi- lan and back. Air Italy is obviously new in transatlantic travels, but the airline holds more than 50 years of experience flying within Italy and Europe under Meridiana, the previous brand. The airline became Air Italy after being backed by Doha-based Qatar Airways in early 2018. A round trip to Milan starts at $600 for economy and $3000 for business. For those who want to travel light, the basic fare only in- cludes a carry-on bag. If you want to reserve a seat and add a bag, you will have to pay a Classic fare, which adds another $50 each way to the final purchase, or a Premium for priority boarding. The outbound flight to Malpensa took off on a Thursday evening, at 7.10pm from SFO. For those coming from the city, it is easy to reach the biggest airport of the Bay Area by BART, in forty minutes from the main downtown stops. On the other hand, taking a cab or drive to the airport at rush hours may turn into unexpected delays. Also from a cost perspec- tive, a cab to SFO usually charges $40-50 depending on traffic, whereas a BART ticket is around $12. I got to the airport two hours before departure time: the check- in process was pretty fast. The air- line is now using some sister air- lines' check in desks, so they printed my boarding pass in no time, I went through security, and reached the gate in less than half hour. I also had time to enjoy a quick drink at the Air France lounge, whose access is available for Air Italy business class travel- ers. Boarding and departure were according to schedule and, once in the plane, the crew welcomes pas- sengers with a drink of their choice, either Champagne or non- alcoholic drink. The design, mix- ing livery in aqua and maroon, is refined and pleasing to the eyes. The steward provides nightwear and slippers, as well as kits that in- clude socks, sleep mask, tooth- brush, and some beauty products. Blankets and headphones are avail- able, so is the meal throughout the flight. One of the plus of the ser- vice is that passengers decide when to have their meal, it can be right after take off or later in the night. It's totally up to them. Drinks like wine/beer and soft drinks are also served at their preferred time. The overnight flight includes both din- ner and breakfast: dining with Air Italy means enjoying Italian an- tipasti, like burrata, scallops, or soup; as well as ricotta pasta, chicken breast, or cod; cheese plate and tiramisù cheese cake. If hungry in the middle of the night, you can get a salad or a quiche, always served with freshly baked bread. Breakfast was surely my favorite moment: the authentic cappuccino, served in a beautiful designed cup, was accompanied by greek yoghurt and granola and pan- cake or omelette. From a comfort standpoint, seats lie-flat, with full footrest, are easy to use, and give one of the best overnight plane experience. For those who want to watch The ceremony at SFO right before departure to Milan SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY Benvenuta Air Italy! Milan and San Francisco welcome back a direct flight that makes them closer than ever

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