The Bay Area has now, finally, a direct flight from/to Italy, seventeen years after the last Alitalia aircraft took off from the San Francisco International Airport heading to Rome. After almost two decades, Norwegian Air connects Italy and Northern California as part of the expansion of its international travel program, and is now the first low cost in the world operating worldwide.
On February 6th, at 4.55pm, the first passengers got on a 12 hours and 35 minutes flight to Rome Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci Airport, for a fare that is below any other offered by airlines currently operating flights to Italy with a stopover either in the US (New York, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta) or a European hub (Paris, London, Munich, Frankfurt).
For a long time, Italy has been one of the very few countries lacking of a direct flight, besides the fact there are almost 300 people traveling daily from/to the Bay Area. As the number of Italians visiting or living in the Silicon Valley keeps raising (+40% in the last few years), and there are more than seven thousands Italian companies doing business in NorCal, the direct flight was surely overdue. Italians and Italian-Americans had been pursuing such goal for quite some time, at least since 2014. In September on that year, a petition was launched by the Italian Consulate, led by former Italian Consul General, Mauro Battocchi, some organizations like Mind the Bridge, BAIA, SVIEC, and all the local communities. As the petition did not lead to any commitment by the main Italian carrier, Alitalia, the local communities are now welcoming the news as a big step forward to connecting the two countries.
Italian Consul General, Lorenzo Ortona, has welcomed the new flight and, during an event organized by Norwegian Air, the Italian Government Tourism Board (ENIT), and all the tourism and hospitality operators, he did not miss the opportunity to underline that: “It was a long time that Italian and Italian American collectivity and in general lovers of all Italian things in the Bay Area had been waiting for a direct connection between Northern California and Italy. I am sure that it will help to further strengthen the already excellent commercial and cultural relations between the world’s capital of innovation and Italy. I hope other airlines will soon follow Norwegian’s example by launching flights to other cities in Italy.”
Same excitement shared by the Norwegian Air representatives, who are willing to see if the interest will stay over time to the point a long haul route may be added for Milan too. The numbers look good, as all flights for the upcoming summer season are almost fully booked, with fares that may look high, but not that much when they compare to other airlines.
L’Italo-Americano had the opportunity to experience one of the first flights from Oakland to the Italian capital, Rome, a few weeks ago. For those who do not know, Norwegian Air is a low-cost carrier that offers travel round trips that may be, during low season, less than half of other airlines. For a flight from/to Rome, you can pay around $500 for a LowFare. As for any other low cost though, the basic fare does not include much apart for one carry-on bag. If you want to reserve a seat, add a bag, and get food throughout the flight, you will have to pay a LowFare+, which adds another $90 each way to the final purchase.
The outbound flight to Fiumicino Airport took off on a Friday evening, at 4.30pm from Oakland International Airport. For those traveling from the city, the second biggest airport of the Bay Area may be seen as out of the way, however – given the early evening schedule – the time to either drive (around one hour) or commute by BART (40 minutes from Powell Station) is usually the same as to get to SFO. Also in terms of costs, a cab to both OAK and SFO usually costs $30-40 depending on traffic, whereas a BART ticket is around $10 in both cases.
I got to the airport two hours before departure time, and Norwegian had already notified by text a 15 minutes delay on the initial schedule. When at the airport, the check-in process was too smooth and fast to be real! The international terminal at the Oakland airport is small compared to many other airports: I printed my boarding pass at the kiosk, left my luggage at the drop-in location, went through security, and reached the gate in less than twenty minutes. Unfortunately the fast process was worthless because of another delay announcement, with boarding scheduled at around 4.15pm and a new departure time set no later than 5.30pm.
Once onboard, I was nicely impressed by the new and cleaned aircraft: seats were comfortable, even if a bit narrow (17.2 inches wide) and the overhead bins had lots of room for carry-ons. Given the eleven hours in the air, the Nice&Tasty Menu included dinner served after departure (usually meat or fish dish with veggies, dessert, a glass of wine, and coffee/tea – in my case I had pasta as vegetarian option) and a snack bag with a sandwich, a sweet treat, and a juice box before landing. You can still purchase anything from the virtual bar (sandwiches/snacks/drinks) during the flight, with prices going from a minimum of $3 for a bottle of water to $12 for a bottle of champagne, and $7-9 for sandwich or salad. The free entertainment was surprisingly interesting, with some of the latest movies available throughout the flight, music, and games. Yet, you will need to buy headset ($3) and a blanket ($5) to get comfortable and enjoy it.
After watching a movie and sleeping for 6 hours, I landed into Rome Fiumicino at 1.30pm.
The experience was even more surprising when traveling back to California from Rome, on a Premium cabin. The costs on low season are between $900-$1200. While it’s easy to reach terminal 3 at Fiumicino Airport from the train station or other terminals, the kiosk is located in one of the last check-in areas. This ensures less chaos, with special access to the security area. Traveling Premium means priority check-in, two luggage, and access to Le Anfore Lounge at Gate E (that was currently closed for remodeling and a voucher for a meal was provided as compensation). The process is pretty fast, with smiley people welcoming passengers during check in. Boarding and departure were according schedule and, once in the plane, the crew welcomes you with a drink of your choice. Blankets and headphones are provided, so is the meal throughout the flight, nicer served compared to Economy. You have also alcohol and any other drinks available all the time. Seats reclines, but never lie-flat, plus they all have a full footrest. That surely allowed a good seven hours of sleeping, that almost made me forget of jet lag.
It may take still time for some travelers to consider traveling low cost on an international long haul flight. Yet, when it comes to connecting the Bay Area and Italy, the perception will probably change. Residents and travelers had been waiting a long time before being able to purchase one ticket only, that allows to board the plane in California and wake up in the Eternal City, forgetting frustrating delays, missing connections, and also confident that their luggage‘s travel on their same aircrafts without getting lost during the layover.
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