Air Italy - Enhanced economy service

Not every airline has the confidence to shout about how good it’s economy cabin is, or to highlight any economy improvements.

There’s still a thinking in some quarters that if your economy cabin looks too good, then you end up dissuading fliers from booking in the more profitable premium cabins.

We think differently. If your economy cabins are worth shouting about, you should do so. It helps show how you are a quality brand across the board, and pushes the message of ‘if their economy cabin is this good, imagine how good business must be.’

Emirates is one example of an airline brand which believes in this approach, with its ‘upgrade your airline’ campaign. In fact, as SimpliFlying founder Shashank Nigam pointed out in an article, Emirates has actually been doing this since 1992.

Delta has also been proactively promoting the fact that it is improving its international economy class service, including a better menu, welcome drinks on departure and chocolates on arrival. Meanwhile later in the magazine, we talk about JetBlue’s latest ad campaign, featuring the “Alright Brothers.”

The latest airline to enhance economy - and talk about it - is Air Italy. In mid September, the airline announced that it was upgrading economy class meals, packaging and InFlight service for all long-haul economy class flights.

This includes a “fully refreshed set of menus” and the introduction of its Le Delizie brand have been rolled out on all long-haul flights from Air Italy’s Milan Malpensa hub.

Air Italy says that passengers can also look forward “to generous portions of appetizer, main course and desserts, stainless steel cutlery and a personal water bottle that offer a refined dining experience thus enhancing the overall travel experience for Economy Class passengers.”

Meanwhile, the airline says it is supporting the environment with the integration of sustainable products onboard.

Air Italy Trip Report

In the introduction we mentioned that a quality economy cabin arguably makes your business cabin more, and not less, attractive.

Testing out that theory was Shashank Nigam who flew Air Italy business with his family from Milan to Toronto.

His trip report is on the SimpliFlying website. Although Milan-Malpensa presented some problems (something largely outside the airline’s control), Shashank felt that the airline “takes on-demand dining to the next level”, and praised the crew for their very high level of passenger care.