Italian airline Air One will start connecting Milan and Boston on June 14, and Chicago on June 21. They will be code-shared with United, and eligible for their frequent flyer credit. A piece here.

Interesting info, Andrew. Does anyone know anything about Air One -- i.e., have any experience with the airline? I guess it is operated by Lufthansa, or at least in partnership with them, judging by their web site.

- Roz

http://www.flyairone.it/it/OrganizzaViaggio/USA.aspx

http://www.flyairone.it/en/OrganizzaViaggio/News.aspx

http://www.flyairone.it/en/Corporate/CartaIdentita.aspx

http://www.flyairone.it/en/Corporate/Partnership.aspx

Toll Free Number in USA: 888.935.9247



Air One is the largest privately-held Italian carrier, with a fleet of nearly 60 jet aircraft. It transported 7.5 million passengers in 2007. Lufthansa has a marketing arrangement with Air One, but does NOT control it.

www.flyairone.it

I have flown Air One twice Roz. The first time, Rome to Palermo 2 years ago was not so good. They gave me only 24 hours notice that my flight had been cancelled and put me on a much later flight that meant spending a very long day at the airport. Others in my group flying Air One were not notified until they reached the airport and had lots of difficulty getting on another flight. However, my experience just 2 weeks ago was great on a flight from Brindisi to Rome. Pleasant and professional staff, an almost on time flight and a relatively short wait for luggage. I would try them again, especially if it means a non-stop from Boston to Italy!

quote:

Air One is the largest privately-held Italian carrier

So do you think they would be less likely to have the strike problems that plague Alitalia? I realize that some of the strikes in Italy are not specifically related to the airline, but I had such bad luck with Alitalia strikes in the past that I vowed never to fly them again. We are planning to go to Italy in the fall, and it would be nice to fly direct if possible.

- Roz

Air One is Berlusconi coming to the rescue of Alitalia.

http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Economia/?id=1.0.1991225670

quote:

Originally posted by Rita and Lino:
Air One is Berlusconi coming to the rescue of Alitalia.

More like vultures stripping the bones before Alitalia is even dead yet.

Because of the LH /AirOne agreement, in which LH provides AirOne with technical and sales support, flying AirOne feels a lot like flying Lufthansa, which is a good thing. AirOne is part of Star Alliance. My experiences with AirOne have been very good (Lufthansa being my airline of choice in general).

quote:

Originally posted by Roz:
So do you think they would be less likely to have the strike problems that plague Alitalia?

- Roz

ANSWER: Yes, indeed!!!
Even though no airline (let alone Italian carrier) is immune from strikes, Alitalia seems to have had a much, much, much greater share of labor unrest than other European airlines. No wonder that it has posted losses for 19 of the past 20 consecutive years!!!

I expect that Air One will do a decent job at the intercontinental flights. Having non-stop service to MXP out of BOS and ORD is essential, IMO, and indeed Alitalia operated these routes for decades (since 1962 out of ORD (suspended for 7 years during the mid-1970's), even earlier out of BOS). So, there is clearly plenty of demand for these flights into MXP.

Perhaps we'll see Air One (or United) add a flight into IAD in the coming years

This quote was in the Boston Globe today:

quote:

Air One noted in its press release, "From liftoff, Air One passengers will be immersed in Italian culture, thanks to Italian cuisine, in-flight entertainment offering Italian films, and with onboard outfitting that guarantees maximum relaxation, making the flight an authentic 'Made in Italy' experience."

The Boston - Milan flights will be every day except Tuesday and Thursday. I just went to their website and priced a sample trip in the fall (Sep - Oct). It came to 513.37 euro (all-inclusive), which converts at today's rates to around $800, not a bad price.

Here is a link to another article with more information, including the baggage allowance, which is pretty generous. Two checked bags up to 72 pounds each free.

- Roz

Thanks for the info, Roz. I'm going to see if I can convert my United flight for September so that I can experience Airone.........

ciao,
Cheryl

For anyone else who might be thinking of booking one of those Air One flights -- here is a tip. Before you do so, call your credit card company and tell them you are going to be purchasing the ticket. There does not appear to be a US office for purchases, although there is an English version of the web site. At any rate, when the charge goes through it will be in euro from Italy, and your credit card company may reject it as potential fraud -- as mine just did.

I did eventually get through to Capital One, and they did put in a "vacation override" on the account to allow the purchase.

But then I had to call the Air One office to get the transaction reinstated. They do have a US number, by the way, which you can find on the Contact page on their web site (their email only has the Italian number). I suspect the person who answers is in Italy though -- at least she had a very strong Italian accent.

- Roz

Here is a link to some of the few available photos of the Air One Airbus 330-200

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:EI-DIP.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:A6-EYW.jpg

http://www.airplane-pictures.net/image13488.html

Dimensions:

Length: 193 ft. 7 in. (59.0 meters)
Wing Span: 197 ft. 10 in. (60.3 meters)
Height: 58 ft. 8 in. (17.89 meters)
Maximum TO Weight: 507,000 lbs. (230,450 kgs.)
Maximum Fuel: 36,750 US gals. (139,000 liters)
Air One Seating: 38 Business/201 Coach
Maximum Range: 6,400 naut. miles (11,850 kms.)
Freight: 4,800 cubic feet (136 cubic meters)

Aircraft on order: 9

I thought fares were required to be quoted in the currency of the country where the trip originates. On the day of the announcement, Air One fares were shown in USD on Orbitz; I don't see them there tonight, but on Kayak they link both to the Air One site (Kayak quotes in dollars, but once you go to Air One it's in euros) and other sites generally giving a higher dollar fare. You might see how the Kayak euro-dollar conversion compares to what you're really charged, and consider your options in using different sites.

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You might see how the Kayak euro-dollar conversion compares to what you're really charged, and consider your options in using different sites.

I don't know where Kayak is getting its prices. They show the BOS - MXP RT flight at $586. However, as you said, Andrew, the only way to book from Kayak is to go to the Air One site, and when you do that, the price comes back in euro -- €513.37. The price before taxes is €318, which converts to under $500, so that isn't what they're using. I think Kayak just got it wrong.

- Roz

I looked at Kayak to get more samples of Air One quotes; they were high, but they showed BOS-MXP for $550 round trip all-in on American Aug. 29-Sept. 17. The redirect to aa.com did not show that fare; otherwise I would have posted it here. So I don't know if that was a glitch in Kayak's display or AA had it and it went away, either because they recognized it as a mistake or it sold during that moment (it said "1 seat left").

As a matter of curiosity, Roz, if you booked with Air One and have a confirmation, is the official fare breakdown with taxes given in euro or dollars?

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As a matter of curiosity, Roz, if you booked with Air One and have a confirmation, is the official fare breakdown with taxes given in euro or dollars?

I did book a flight with Air One, and on the website the transaction went through in euro. But then I got the email saying that my credit card wasn't approved, so I am still waiting to hear if they got that straightened out. When I called Air One after clearing the transaction with Capital One, Air One said I should get another email within 3 days with a final confirmation. I haven't yet heard anything else. I do wonder if eventually Air One will have a way of booking in dollars and maybe the euro transactions are temporary because the flights are so new.

- Roz

Well, I did get the final confirmation with an e-ticket number from Air One. However, the charge has still not shown up on my credit card when I look online.

In Sunday's Boston Globe there was a full-page ad for Air One flights to Milan (price quoted in dollars at $799 all-inclusive). At the bottom of the ad, it said this:

quote:

Service subject to receipt of government operating authority

So what do you think that means? Is Air One selling flights that it isn't yet authorized to operate?

- Roz

It is standard for that verbiage to be included on new flights, even as tickets were on sale. I don't recall when it's happened that a route has been announced and approval hasn't come through; now there are Open Skies agreements making it easier to start new service.

It's being reported on Flyertalk's Mileage Run forum that other airlines are matching Air One's fares and showing availability on these routes at around $800 all-in in July and August.

Finally, a photo of an Air One Airbus 330-200 in the air:


http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-One/Airbus-A330-202/..._id=&next_id=NEXTID#

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

According to the Air One website, the starting dates for the new nonstop flights from MXP to ORD and BOS have been set back to June 26 and 27, respectively.

http://www.flyairone.it/it/OrganizzaViaggio/USA.aspx