Pros and Cons of Upgrading to ITA Airways Premium Economy

Premium economy cabins can vary greatly depending on the airline. Some can feel more like economy class, while others have premium touches that make them seem closer to business class.

Recently, I upgraded myself to premium economy on ITA Airways, flying from Europe to South America. I was curious to know where the Italian flag carrier’s premium economy experience would fall on that spectrum, and when the airline offered the chance to bid to upgrade from economy, I jumped at it. My bid was successful, and I flew in premium economy on the Airbus A350 from Rome, Italy, to São Paulo, Brazil.

Read on to learn how the upgrade process worked and the pros and cons of ITA’s premium economy.

Upgrading From Economy to Premium Economy with ITA Airways

I bought a one-way economy cash ticket from Barcelona (BCN) to São Paulo (GRU) via Rome (FCO) for €533 ($575 at the time of booking).

The ITA site immediately presented the chance of upgrading with cash, including directly from economy to business. Usually, airlines only offer upgrades of 1 cabin class, so being able to skip premium and upgrade from economy straight to business class is quite rare. However, the minimum bid for business class was €920 ($993), which I wasn’t willing to pay. I don’t really see the value in paying for a flat bed on a day flight, even one lasting 12 hours.

So I decided to try my luck with the lowest upgrade bid on offer, a far more tempting €320 ($345) for premium economy.

Before placing a bid, I waited a couple of weeks to see if the minimum bid was reduced. I was surprised to find it did, slightly, to $295 ($312). I went ahead with the lowest possible bid, and lo and behold: Just 11 minutes later, I received an email congratulating me on my successful upgrade. I couldn’t believe it happened so quickly!

All told, the cost of this one-way flight was now $887. This was a great deal compared to the cash fare for the exact same class and one-way itinerary, $2,239 — 2 and a half times as much.

I paid for my original economy ticket and the upgrade using the U.K. version of The Platinum Card^® from American Express. The U.S. version of this card earns 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per calendar year, then 1x).

Hot Tip:

Having a travel rewards credit card in your wallet can significantly improve your time in the air and even on the ground.

Pros of Flying ITA Airways Premium Economy

This was my first time flying ITA Airways, which was formed in 2020 from the ashes of bankrupt Alitalia.

Let’s start with what I liked about its premium economy.

I know it has nothing to do with the actual travel experience, but before I get started, I have to highlight just how gorgeous ITA’s royal blue livery is.

Espresso Included in Coffee Service

Inside those gorgeous blue airplanes, you might be surprised by a rarity: espresso.

In economy and premium economy, the coffee usually comes in the form of tasteless dirty water served out of large brewing pots. In business and first class, some airlines take coffee to the next level, thanks to some form of proper espresso machine installed in the galley. I’ve experienced this when flying in first and business class before, but never before had I been asked if I wanted an espresso when flying in premium economy.

To my knowledge, ITA is the only airline that offers this service. Not only is it proper coffee, but the airline partners with Italian company Illy, which, in my humble opinion, happens to make some of the tastiest coffee in the world.

Comfortable Seats With Less Invasive Recline

Premium economy seats vary from airline to airline in the same way as business class seats do. You’ll even find different versions of premium economy seats within the same airline, depending on the aircraft.

A common complaint with premium economy seats has to do with seat recline. When the passenger in front reclines, sometimes the seat encroaches so far into your personal space that you could almost kiss the entertainment screen without leaning forward.

This is not the case with ITA’s Airbus A350-900s. The seat does recline, but the seat cushion also slides forward a bit, which leaves a respectable gap between your face and the IFE screen.

The best premium economy seats are those with a hard shell, like those found, for example, on Air France’s premium economy. These seats don’t recline at all into your space. ITA’s seats on the A350 are an excellent middle ground.

I was also impressed with the sheer amount of space the bulkhead row seats in front of me had.

This was also the first time I’d seen the tray table stowed so that it protrudes out in front of the seat.

It’s unclear what the reason is, but it could be that it frees up the armrests in the middle.

Speaking of armrests, I noticed that one of the shared armrest spaces between seats in the middle of the rows was shorter and slightly narrower than the other. This would definitely mean a little more comfort for 2 passengers traveling together, as those larger, wider armrests that have a cocktail shelf and are used for table stowage can feel a little restrictive.

Stylish, Sleek Design

Italy is known for its keen eye for design, and it’s not just its fashion houses or sports cars that are oozing with style. ITA clearly does, too.

I know the appreciation for design and style is subjective, but it’s hard to deny how great this cabin looks, with its rare color scheme of beiges and creams.

The navy contouring of the cream seats looks super sleek. On one side of the headrest, you’ll notice a small Italian flag stitched into the fabric, and on the other side, ITA’s logo (in the same colors).

It all comes together to create a premium feel, even in the economy cabin.

The same color scheme and style extends into the business class cabin.

Great Quality IFE Screen

I was really impressed with the high-quality IFE screens. They are the same size as what economy passengers will find on this aircraft, the A350-900, but the 4K screen responded immediately to the touch and was as seamless to use as a personal handheld tablet.

The IFE screens in premium economy on ITA’s Airbus A330neos are even larger, at 15.2 inches.

Even today, you’ll still find laggy, pixelated IFE screens. It’s great to know ITA has invested in this aspect of its premium economy offering.

Cons of Flying ITA Airways Premium Economy

Comfortable seats, excellent IFE screens, and a surprise espresso service were great. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience left a lot to be desired.

Food That Was More Economy Than Premium Economy

When it comes to portion size and presentation, I’d say ITA was pretty average. You could easily mistake this for an economy meal that the likes of a premium airline like Emirates might serve.

The quality of the food itself was a problem, too. The focaccia bread was dry and tasteless, and the pasta’s edges were so crispy and dry that I couldn’t chew them.

I felt let down by the quality of this ITA premium economy meal. I had higher expectations from the flag carrier of a country that prides itself on its spectacular pastas and breads. That’s especially true of a flight catered at the airline’s home base in Italy, not a far-flung outstation.

On the plus side, ITA offered a total of 3 food services. This is 1 more than what I’ve experienced previously when flying premium economy to Brazil with Air France and British Airways. On the minus side was the quality of that extra meal.

Rather than a full meal, the second service was a light snack that consisted of a warm sandwich. What was inside will forever be a mystery, as the flavor was rather inscrutable.

The third meal service was reminiscent of a child’s picnic. It consisted of a random assortment of sweet and savory snacks served in a brown paper bag. Separately, I was handed a warm vegetarian flatbread wrapped in plastic. There was too much plastic here.

Fortunately, the tasteless flatbread pizza was followed by this delicious-looking chocolate tart, which was the most premium thing I ate on this flight.

As for the rest of the packaged snacks, I offered them to my seatmate.

A Stingy Welcome Drink

There’s no hard and fast rule regarding this, but in general, the more premium the airline is, the more likely you’ll enjoy a welcome drink in premium economy. In some cases, this can even be Champagne.

In ITA’s case, we got off to a great start with an offering of sparkling wine (which I think was Prosecco) as well as water. Wishing to stay compos mentis to work, I opted for water.

My seatmate, however, went for the bubbles and was served this thimble-sized portion.

I actually thought the crew member might have finished the bottle and would come back to top this up. He didn’t.

This is a cheap move from ITA. Even low-cost French airline French Bee, which I flew recently, offers premium economy passengers a full glass of bubbles before takeoff.

Stained Seats

The eye for detail and design of ITA’s premium economy cabins that I mentioned as a positive is slightly upended by its impracticality.

At first glance, I was impressed by the cabin’s colors. However, on closer inspection, the seats were dirty and stained.

The stains on my neighbor’s seat were even worse.

It makes me wonder whether ITA will deep clean these cabins at some point, or whether it’ll just let the dirt and stains build up.

No Amenity Kit

Offering an amenity kit is another element of premium economy service that can set an airline apart from its competitors. Unfortunately, ITA didn’t.

Other airlines, such as Air France, offer amenity kits on all premium economy flights, while others, like Virgin Atlantic, only offer them on night flights.

It’s not uncommon these days to find a basic amenity kit even when flying in economy on some airlines.

Very Basic Service

I was very underwhelmed by the onboard service. The nonchalant manner of the crew serving the premium economy cabin gave the impression that they were simply doing their job and nothing more.

Not one member made an effort to build rapport with me or anyone seated around me. In fact, the only time a crew made a proactive visit to my seat was to tell me to shut my window shade. They weren’t his exact words, but he said I could use the light above my seat if I wanted brightness. I explained that this was a day flight and that I’d chosen the window seat specifically so I could look out of it during the flight.

Sadly, interacting with the crew felt robotic and lacked warmth, and there was barely a smile to be seen.

You could say I’m being harsh, as this was just premium economy. The problem is, the service I’ve experienced when flying other airlines’ premium economy class has been more akin to what I’d expect from business class.

So, Is It Worth Upgrading to ITA Airways Premium Economy?

Deciding whether something is value for money is subjective.

Without factoring in what I paid, this experience lacked too many of the aspects I would expect when flying premium economy.

However, objectively speaking, I only spent $887 on this ticket. That’s a huge saving compared to the $2,239 I would have paid if I’d booked it outright instead of bidding for an upgrade. That’s a great deal, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend shelling out for a full-price premium economy ticket with ITA.

I don’t think I’d choose to fly ITA’s premium economy again. I’d be more inclined to pay a higher fare to fly Air France’s premium economy instead.

Final Thoughts

I was really looking forward to flying ITA for the first time and experiencing its premium economy offering. However, my experience was more reminiscent of low-cost premium economy than what I’ve come to expect when flying full-service carriers like ITA.

The elegant (but dirty) cabin and spacious seats were positives, but more than that is needed. Improvements in the quality and quantity of food served, small additional touches such as the introduction of an amenity kit, and maybe even some dedicated premium economy service training would really help make this experience feel more upscale.