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I really had a fun time in Rome. My stay turned out nice, the history and the sights in Rome were truly amazing. But being a total aviation geek, deep down, I was really looking forward to my Magnifica trip back home (I know, this is just wrong)!
On my KLM trip down to Rome I could not use online check-in. @KLM attempted to help me but could not find the issue, but at least I could DM them. I could not check-in on Alitalia.com either. @Alitalia would not follow me and still is not following me and I doubt they would have done anything anyway.
We flew out of the satellite terminal G and had to take the tram out to the gates. The Giotto (they should call it Grotto) lounge is downstairs.
The breakfast snacks were not that great and nothing like Delta or KLM lounges. There is a bar where you can get a cappuccino and drinks.
The seats are some of the most uncomfortable I have ever endured in any lounge so far. The wifi was free and slow. There is not much good I can say about the Giotto lounge.
We left a little early as waiting to board was better than staying in the lounge. As you can see, the guy in front of us really wanted to be first on-board the flight!
At last, time for Magnifica! I have seen a few reviews but was this as nice as it seemed.
We were in the back row of the front business cabin in the so called “honeymoon seats”. I want you to look at the armrest between them. They are not good. And if you were to raise the partition to get some privacy if you did not know the flyer next to you it is only bout 1″ wide. Not kidding. Bad design if not together then go for the ones with the space between you.
The window sides are single seats and would be much better if not a couple. But note the odd number seats seat well is open. This can be good or bad depending on what you like.
The seat controls are straight forward and there is a vibrate massage built into the seats. It was OK but not amazing.
The video screen are nice sized but fixed in place. It is both touch screen or can be controlled by the hand unit. The choice of movies is very poor compared to Delta. A few recent movies and a few old ones. I would bring your own. Also note in the left foot well the amenity kit. It was so sad. No real bag just plastic and cheap stuff inside.
The lotion box kit in comparison was boutique like. I did not try any of the items but it did look nice!
Now this is an Italian plane. Don’t flame me for this but I sorta got used to many Italian things not working quite right over the past few days. For example, the bathroom in the lounge had nice tile but the cheapest fixtures on earth and most were busted. Lisa’s remote was stuck on announcement for the complete flight and did not work. At least the touch screen did work.
On to the meal. The appetizer was very good. A chopped smoked salmon on a biscuit and some Prosciutto with pickled veggies.
The meal service was done via the serving carts where they serve up what you want onto plates. Kinda neat.
The first pasta dish was very good the red wine was nice. For some reason both Lisa & I were never offered a salad from the cart with the main dish.
The main dish was either a fish cake or veal. Lisa & I both chose the veal and it was very nice I must say.
They came by several times with bread baskets and that is nice. I just wish there could be more butter on flights but it seems all airlines are cheap on butter!
For dessert I had a tart and Lisa had some fruit. They had a nice sweet dessert wine to go with it. Before landing we were served a light snack with Soprasetta and a dry cheese that was very very good.
However, what do you think the worst thing an Italian airline could do regarding meal service. If you said run out of red wine you would guess right!
They do have outside cameras on the flight so you can view takeoff, approach and landing. I know the A380 has this also but I had not seen it yet so I enjoyed it.
Some overall thoughts about the flight. Check-in went great and was fast. The lounge was a disappointment. The seats were nice but Delta’s new ones are very similar. Food was a bit better than Delta buy only by a little. Wine was just as good on Delta and has never “run dry”. Service is better on Delta IMO especially since the Alitalia FA’s were much more attentive to me than to Lisa. I could not online check-in and @Alitalia still is not following me and doubt they ever will. I am very happy I took this flight and I would fly Magnifica again for 100,000 Delta points or even the new 125,000 Delta points plus under $200 in tax but if routes are better I will stick with Delta! – René
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I’m not sure you should expect perfection and slick service from an airline that is in such deep financial distress.
Do the seats now lie flat or are they still the recliner-style? Believe it or not, your experience is not much different than mine about 7 years ago. Back then, the seats were recliner-style but comfortable and in a 2-1-2 configuration (I only remember this because I sat in the middle section). The rest of what you describe is nearly the same – although as a positive, I would mention that the FAs were quite attractive! 🙂 I think it is symptomatic of an airline that has been losing money for years – there is some statistic like AZ made a profit only one year since inception. It has been continually propped up by the gov’t who now has their own budgetary problems.
@eric – full flat.
Rene – I just flew Alitalia ORD>FCO two weeks ago and the service and seats were good. You missed out on using the lotion box kit. Scents were light and the lotion was good!
@MSPpete – I still have them but plan to give them to readers at the ChicagoSeminars this weekend 😉
Nice review, thanks. My big gripe is also that airlines seem to only stock one pad of butter for each passenger — DL included. Same for the tiny individual bottles of extra virgin olive oil. I did Magnifica about 20 years ago and was impressed with how they served from the cart. And back then, it seemed to be “all you can eat” because they kept coming back to see if you wanted more.
I’m flying to Europe in Magnifica (LAX-FCO-AMS and FLR-FCO-LAX) next summer as I was able to get 3 biz class award seats.
My wife and I have Row 1 and Row 3 honeymoon seats. I changed from Delta outbound and Air France return when Alitalia opened up. Hope it wasn’t a mistake! 🙂
I’ve only flown Alitalia once, and that was a short coach flight from MXP-FCO.
@Harlan – If the flight times are good stay with Alitalia. If the Delta flight times are much better, I like Delta!
Your description of Italy as “not quite working” is so apt. We were there this summer too and couldn’t help but feel like the place was nice, but with a lot of things not quite right. It was a sharp contrast with Croatia, which was the real destination. Italy was just the easiest place to get to on DL, then a couple day layover before connecting on.
Alitalia flight times are good although I’m a bit concerned about the 60 minute connection time in Rome when arriving from and departing to the U.S.
FCO to LAX is scheduled for 13:05 so a nice long flight to experience all Alitalia has to offer. And yes, I purchased travel insurance for this one!
I’m not completely surprised that an airline site (Delta Air Lines site) speak bad and exagerating more than ones against another airline. I’ve been on these flight from New York and from Boston to Rome several times and I absolutely disapprove all what the person in this relation sead!
@Paul – I don’t work for Delta and I have no idea what your comment means?
The most likely reason you were not able to check-in to your KLM flight was because of limitations within Alitalia’s reservation system (lack of support for IATCI – InterAirline Through Check-In). The same thing happened to me while traveling from MEX to LAX on a codeshare flight (Alaska Airlines) with Delta.