Alitalia offers its Russian passengers befitting New Year presents

One of Alitalia’s several New Year presents for its passengers is the change in the terms of carrying hand luggage, a very important policy decision, especially during winter holidays, when passengers travel to Italy on shopping trips and to ski resorts.

Thus, according to the new terms, which came into force on September 1, the new weight of hand luggage allowed on board has been increased by 3kg from 5kg to 8kg. Besides, the weight of hand luggage in an economy class has been increased from 20kg to 23kg, while in the business class, a passenger, instead of 30kg, can now take three luggage spaces of 23kg each, or a total of 69kg.

Besides, Alitalia also has other New Year gifts for its regular passengers that participate in its Mille Miglia program. Under this program, each passenger that will buy tickets via Alitalia’s site till end of December 2010 will receive an additional bonus of 500 miles. 

In a related development, the time for the airline’s winter flight from Russia to Milan has been shifted forward by one hour, to 19.15 instead of 20.25, thus increasing the number of possible connecting flights for passengers on transit through Milan. All these positive changes became possible, thanks to Alitalia’s new winter flights schedule that came into force on October 30.

Other changes initiated by the new schedule envisage regular three Alitalia flights from the Terminal D of the Sheremetyevo Airport from Russia to Italy on a daily basis: two flights on the Moscow-Rome-Moscow route and one flight on the Moscow-Milan-Moscow route.

Besides, Alitalia will still continue its three regular flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays on the Moscow-Turin-Moscow route that was opened with lots of pomp exactly a year ago. It offers regular direct flights from St. Petersburg to Rome five times a week, except Tuesdays and Thursdays.

During the winter air navigation season in 2010-11, Alitalia plans to offer the following direct regular flights from Russia: Moscow-Rome, Fiumicino Airport (14 flights a week); Moscow-Milan, Malpensa Airport (7 flights a week); Moscow-Turin, Caselle Airport (3 flights a week), all from the new Terminal D of the Sheremetyevo Airport as well as St. Petersburg-Rome, Fiumicino Airport (5 flights in a week) from the Pulkovo-2 International Airport.

In all, there will be a total 29 flights per week on Alitalia’s comfortable Airbus planes family of А319, А320 and А321, while the convenient time for connecting with other flights will enable Russian passengers to reach any of Italy’s 24 key cities as well as other countries of the globe with little or no loss of time.

In the summer 2010, Alitalia completed the process of overhauling its fleet, during which it added 76 new Airbus 320 branded planes equipped with the latest noise isolation technologies, comfortable seats and individual monitors at the back of seats for each passenger.

As a result, today, Alitalia’s fleet comprises 159 modern planes, including the comfortable Boeing planes (767/300ER, 777/200ER and 737/400), Airbus (A330, А319, А320 and А321), Mcdonnell Douglas (MD80-MD82), Embraer (170 LR) and Bombardier (CRJ900), all meeting the most stringent of international flight safety requirements.