A delivery ceremony for ITA Airways’ new Airbus A321neo was held last Friday 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.

After the ceremony, the A321neo took a “ferry flight” to Fiumicino, where it will undergo pre-operational tests and planned inspections by the National Authority for Certification and Airworthiness (ENAC) before beginning commercial flights.

“Today, I am proud to welcome the first Airbus A321neo, a brand-new aircraft for our company,” stated Francesco Presicce, ITA Airways Chief Technology Officer and Accountable Manager. “With the arrival of the Airbus A321neo, ITA Airways’ fleet will include all of the last generation Airbus aircraft families – the A220, A320, A330, and A350.”

The new A321neo, built entirely following ITA Airways’ new interior design, will enable us to develop our international network further. Moreover, it represents another milestone in our new environmentally friendly fleet development plan, with cutting-edge technology that optimises efficiency and service quality while dramatically lowering the environmental impact.

The A321neo is ITA Airways’ first narrow-body aircraft with three separate cabins: Business Class (with seats that recline into full lie-flat beds), Premium Economy, and Economy (with seats dedicated to Comfort Economy).

Regarding type and interior arrangement, the new aircraft is perfect for the Company’s forthcoming routes (Middle East and Africa). I want to thank the entire project team for their commitment to achieving such a prestigious result for a young carrier with a growing fleet size.”

It is the first Airbus A321neo aircraft to enter ITA Airways’ fleet, and it is named after Massimiliano Rosolino, an Italian swimmer who won the Olympic gold medal in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The A321neo’s distinguishing characteristics include the award-winning Airspace cabin, which provides the highest levels of comfort and increased cabin space, the new ITA Airways custom interior lighting system, sophisticated entertainment systems, and full Wi-Fi connectivity in all classes.

Walter de Silva perfectly embodies typical Italian elegance and style in the cabin interiors, which wonderfully exemplify classic Italian elegance and flair. In addition to perfectly preserving the brand’s stylistic qualities, they serve the demand for “people centricity” through a cabin impression that expresses continuity throughout all classes. The cabin interiors, 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, simultaneously, consistent with the choice of a journey above the clouds.

The new aircraft features new colours, materials, and 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 monitors 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 maps.

Depending on the connectivity package selected, passengers can connect their device to the in-flight network and text, surf, or stream content. The A321neo is the largest aircraft in Airbus’ A320neo Family, offering unrivalled range and performance.

It offers 22 percent lower consumption of fuel and CO2 emissions per seat and a 50 percent lower noise impact compared to previous-generation aircraft in its category, thanks to next-generation Pratt & Whitney GTFTM engines and Sharklets. The Airbus A321neo solidifies ITA Airways’ strategy of operating a fully Airbus fleet. There are currently 81 in operation, including new-generation aircraft like the A220, A320neo, A330neo, and A350. In the coming weeks, it will join the fleet to service the Company’s medium-haul ro