Alitalia, Economy Class – Embraer 175: Zürich to Rome

Date: 06 May 2017
Departure: 18:42
Arrival: 19:45
Flight time: 1 hour 3 minutes
Seat: 10C, aisle

Introduction

On 25 April 2017 Alitalia’s management announced that the unions had rejected the carrier’s restructuring plan, even though Etihad Airways and the Italian government, in a moment of mental aberration, had agreed to inject even more money into the notoriously lossmaking operation in Rome.

And so the carrier’s management was left no other option but to declare bankruptcy. In the meantime, the Italian government announced that it would only be able to give the airline a credit (never to be seen again…) to keep the airline afloat until a more permanent solution can be found. Meanwhile though, the banks in Italy have explained that they were not in a position to invest in the company.

So is this the end of the road for Alitalia? It very much looks like it. But strangely enough, even while I write this, in my mind I can hear Gloria Gaynor belting out a powerful rendition of that tedious epic classic ‘I will survive’…

Getting to the Airport

I’m travelling with the wiry R. again. We’re starting out from the office in Winterthur, which is a journey of about fifteen minutes by train to Zürich airport. We catch the 16h28 train and already it’s standing room only.

Check-in

At Zürich airport Alitalia’s handling is done by DNATA on row 2 of check-in 2. Web check-in, app check-in and self-service check-in are not possible in Zürich, so you have to go to the counter to obtain your boarding pass.

Boarding

The flight is boarding from gate B34. There is a first boarding call which seems a bit useless, given that it isfor passengers in Business Class, Frecce Alata, Etihad Guest, SkyTeam Elite and SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers – which probably account for about 90% of the passengers on this evening’s flight.

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The Cabin

The seat pitch is good and I can easily stretch my legs. What’s more, row 10 is properly aligned with the window, which means you can look out the window without any major contortions.

The cabin and seat look very neat, clean and well maintained. As far as comfort goes though, the seat could be better. But this seems to be a general issue on the Embraers: the seats are a bit too low for my liking.

The Crew

There are two cabin crew on the flight, one male and one female and both of them are in their early forties, I would say. And both of them have the biggest ‘couldn’t give a shit’ expression on their faces I’ve ever seen. Okay, so let’s be gentle with them and put it down to concern over their beloved employer’s impending demise.

During the service, the crew’s mood shifts from ‘couldn’t give a shit’ to ‘my goodness, I’m so glamorous because actually, I’m a model you know’. Which, for the female means that she laughs like an imbecile for no apparent reason while the male simply gives everyone the stink eye and refuses to talk to anybody other than his colleague. Charming, I’m sure.

The Meal

Ooh, crackers! And a choice of water, Coke or Diet Coke. That’s it. This is usually where I go off on the kind of tangent that really irritates the more aeronautically interested readers of my blog who are keen on airplane pictures and not food descriptions – all very well written and tastefully poetic of course – of the catering. But what can say? It’s just crackers. Although I must say the sparkling water I have with that really goes well. A symphony actually!

Arrival

The flight time to Rome is just over one hour and we have good visibility all the way, providing some excellent views of the Alps as we make the crossing. We park on a remote stand, from where we are bussed to the terminal. Our flight arrives in Terminal 1.

Getting into Town

In Rome we’re staying at the Hilton Garden Inn at Fiumicino Airport. There is a complimentary shuttle bus that runs from the departure concourse of Terminal 1 to the hotel every fifteen minutes and takes about ten minutes to make the journey.

Conclusion

All in all there is nothing much to say about this flight. The crew could have been perhaps a bit more engaging and a bit less useless. Other than that, I can’t really complain. They got me there.