First Airbus A321neo joins ITA Airways fleet Delivery ceremony in Hamburg
The Voice of Chandigarh News:
A delivery ceremony for ITA Airways’ new Airbus A321neo was held at the Airbus manufacturing facility in Hamburg in the presence of Francesco Presicce, ITA Airways Accountable Manager and Chief Technology Officer, Ville Arhippainen, Airbus Vice President Sales Western & Southern Europe, Walter Garrett, Senior Manager Asset Management Air Lease Corporation and Pedro Cabrero-Vazquez, Customer Fleet Director – Europe Pratt & Whitney.
At the end of the ceremony, the A321neo made the transfer “ferry flight” to Fiumicino, where it will carry out the preparatory tests for entry into operation and the planned inspections by the National Authority for Certification and Airworthiness (ENAC) in order to start operating the commercial flights.
“Today I am proud to add to our fleet the first Airbus A321neo, a brand-new aircraft for our Company” said Francesco Presicce, ITA Airways Chief Technology Officer and Accountable Manager. “With the arrival of the Airbus A321neo, ITA Airways fleet will include all the last generation Airbus aircraft families – the A220, A320, A330 and A350. Completely built according to ITA Airways’ new cabin design, the new A321neo will enable us to further develop our international network. Moreover, it marks another milestone in our new environment-friendly fleet development strategy with cutting-edge technologies optimizing efficiency and service quality while significantly reducing environmental impact.
The A321neo is ITA Airways’ first narrow-body aircraft configured with three separate cabins: Business Class with seats reclining into full lie-flat beds, Premium Economy and Economy (with seats dedicated to Comfort Economy). In terms of type and internal configuration, the new aircraft is ideal for the Company’s upcoming routes (Middle East and Africa). I would like to thank the entire team involved in the project for their commitment to achieving such a prestigious result for a young carrier with an ever-expanding fleet size”.
First Airbus A321neo aircraft to join ITA Airways fleet, it sports the blue livery and is named after Massimiliano Rosolino, Italian swimmer and Olympic Champion in Sydney in 2000.
Distinctive features of the A321neo are the award-winning Airspace cabin providing the highest comfort levels and increased cabin space, the new ITA Airways custom interior lighting system, sophisticated entertainment systems and full Wi-Fi connectivity in all classes.
The cabin interiors, entirely designed by Walter de Silva, perfectly embody typical Italian elegance and style. In addition to fully capturing the brand’s stylistic features, they satisfy the need for “people centricity” through a cabin perception expressing continuity between all classes. In designing the ITA Airways A321neo interiors, Walter De Silva was inspired by the idea of conveying a pleasant feeling and at the same time consistent with the choice of a journey above the clouds. At the core of the creative concept stand out elements such as comfort, elegance, simplicity, and especially natural materials and colors. All with a single goal: to enhance life quality on board, and to ensure maximum passenger comfort at all flight stages.
The new aircraft is characterized by new colors and materials, the latest generation of seats and XL overhead bins. In addition, each seat is equipped with the latest generation “on-demand” video and audio entertainment
system featuring 17.3” (Business), 15.6” (Premium Economy) and 13.3” (Economy) low reflectance touchscreen displays with 4K resolution for a simple, smooth, and intuitive user experience.
Thanks to the new IFE system, passengers will enjoy an experience comparable to popular multimedia applications, with bimonthly programming consisting of a wide selection of movies, TV series, music playlists, interactive games, and 3D interactive flight map.
The WiFi connection system allows travelers to connect with their device to the in-flight network and to text, surf, or stream content, depending on the connectivity package purchased.
The A321neo is the largest aircraft in Airbus’ A320neo Family and offers absolute range and performance. Thanks to next-generation Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engines and Sharklets, it boasts 22 percent lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per seat and enables 50 percent reduction in noise impact compared to previous-generation aircraft in its category.
The Airbus A321neo further solidifies ITA Airways’ strategy of a fleet entirely composed of Airbus aircraft. There are currently 81 in operation including new generation units such as the A220, A320neo, A330neo and A350. It will enter the fleet in the upcoming weeks to serve the Company’s medium-haul routes.
