Review: AeroItalia Boeing 737-800 Bucharest to Rome
This review covers my AeroItalia flight on a Boeing 737-800 from Bucharest Baneasa (BBU) to Rome Fiumicino (FCO).
Taking an AeroItalia flight
Unless you’re from Italy, you probably haven’t heard of the small Italian airline AeroItalia before.
AeroItalia, a low-cost airline, shouldn’t be mistaken for Alitalia, the former Italian flag carrier and predecessor to ITA Airways, currently the largest airline in Italy.
AeroItalia has a relatively small fleet comprising 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft and 2 ATR 72-600 turboprops, and is currently also leasing two Embraers — one E175 and one E190.
With this fleet, AeroItalia primarily operates domestic flights within Italy, currently serving 13 airports across the country, although it also maintains a small international network, connecting Rome Fiumicino with Brno in the Czech Republic, Lublin in Poland, and Bucharest and Bacău in Romania.
As I needed to fly from Bucharest to Rome, it was the perfect opportunity to try AeroItalia — a welcome change from the other airlines operating this route (Ryanair, TAROM, and Wizz Air), all of which I’ve flown with dozens of times before.
For my ticket, which I booked only two weeks in advance, I paid just €35, which I thought was a great price.
Check-in at Bucharest Baneasa Airport
Another reason I chose AeroItalia was that it gave me the opportunity to check out the newly renovated Băneasa Airport, the secondary airport of Bucharest after the much-larger Otopeni Airport (note: since my flight, AeroItalia has moved its Bucharest operations from Băneasa to Otopeni).
Bucharest Băneasa is the second-oldest airport in the world still served by scheduled commercial flights, and its magnificent 1952 terminal building offers a fascinating glimpse into the early days of aviation.
Băneasa Airport is also far more centrally located than Otopeni Airport, although the advantages of this secondary Bucharest airport end there, as the terminal lacks any shops or facilities apart from a few vending machines.
As I had checked in online and was only travelling with a small rucksack, I could skip the check-in desks and head straight to security.
Note that if you book a Basic fare on AeroItalia, you cannot use the airport check-in desks and must check in online instead, which is available from 24 hours before departure.
Classic and Biz fares, however, include free airport check-in, if you prefer it above online check-in.
Baggage on AeroItalia
On AeroItalia, all fare types allow you to bring a small cabin bag on board, provided it fits within the dimensions of 40x30x20 cm and a maximum weight 0f 10 kg.
As I was travelling with just a small rucksack, this was perfectly adequate for me.
Note that a larger cabin bag – such as a trolley – is only included free of charge with a Biz fare, as you’ll need to pay a surcharge for it if you book a Classic or Basic fare.
A large cabin bag on AeroItalia must fit within the dimensions of 55x40x20 cm and may weigh up to 10 kg.
Checked luggage is included with the Biz and Classic fares, but comes at an additional cost if you choose a Basic fare.
With a Biz fare ticket, you are entitled to check in luggage weighing up to 32 kg, while a Classic fare allows for 23 kg – both with the same maximum dimensions of 80x50x30 cm.
Boarding
Although AeroItalia offers a priority boarding service for an additional fee — just like most other low-cost airlines — it wasn’t really enforced when I flew with them, possibly because there were no more than two dozen passengers for the flight to Rome, all of whom could easily fit into a single bus.
Boarding therefore turned out to be a rather leisurely affair.
On the short bus ride from the terminal to our plane, you’re more likely to see business jets of various types and sizes parked on the apron than other commercial airliners — reflecting Băneasa’s greater popularity with private aviation than with scheduled commercial flights.
Upon reaching the aircraft, we were able to board the AeroItalia Boeing 737-800 via stairs at both the forward and rear doors.
AeroItalia Boeing 737-800 cabin and seats
As a low-cost airline, AeroItalia’s planes have an all-economy class configuration, with three seats on each side of the aisle.
Whether or not you receive free advanced seat selection depends on the ticket type, as AeroItalia’s Basic fare only includes a randomly assigned seat at online check-in unless you pay an additional fee to pre-select one in advance.
On the other hand, AeroItalia’s Classic package includes free standard seat selection at the time of booking (excluding exit row seats and those in rows 1 to 4), while the Biz package allows you to choose any seat type at no extra cost when booking.
I had selected seat 29A in the rear of the cabin, and it turned out that my entire row — as well as the rows directly in front and behind — remained empty due to the light passenger load on today’s flight, which was certainly an unexpected and very welcome surprise.
The legroom and seat pitch were comparable to those on other European low-cost airlines, as was the overall comfort of the seat itself.
However, I noticed that the seatback was rather short and lacked headrests, so at my height of 1.86 metres (6 ft 1 in), I found it difficult to find a comfortable position to rest my head.
Of course, this issue more pronounced if you’re seated in a middle or aisle seat, as those by the window can at least lean against the fuselage, which partly offsets the lack of head support.
Bucharest Baneasa (BBU) to Rome Fiumicino (FCO)
AeroItalia – Flight XZ3115 – Boeing 737-800
Plane registration number: 9H-CRI
Economy class – Seat 29A
Departure: 16:50 – Arrival: 18:10
Flight time: 2h20m – Distance: 723 miles
Departure
Originally, my flight from Bucharest to Rome was scheduled to depart at 15:15, but three days beforehand, AeroItalia emailed me about a schedule change, informing me that due to operational reasons, the departure time had been moved to 16:50.
Although this was a minor inconvenience, at least everything went according to schedule on the day of travel, and we departed on time from Bucharest Băneasa Airport.
The weather in Bucharest on this early summer day wasn’t great, with intermittent rain since morning and dark, brooding clouds in the sky.
Still, there were some decent views during take-off from Bucharest Băneasa Airport, which made for a pleasant change of scenery compared to Otopeni Airport, from where I depart dozens of times each year.
In-flight service
When we reached cruising altitude, the crew started with a beverage service.
Although AeroItalia is a low-cost carrier, they do serve complimentary coffee, tea, or water – something I certainly did not expect.
The pour of coffee was certainly on the small side, but the gesture of a free drink was appreciated nonetheless.
Apart from this, don’t expect any frills on board your AeroItalia flight, as there was no buy-on-board menu, no airline magazine to read, no in-flight entertainment screens, and no power sockets or Wi-Fi internet.
Service by the crew was friendly and delivered with a smile.
Window views
For the first half of the flight, the views were rather limited due to poor visibility, but they improved as we approached the Adriatic and finally entered Italian airspace.
The flight was otherwise entirely uneventful — which I consider a good sign when flying with a low-cost airline.
Landing
After a while, we began our descent towards Rome Fiumicino Airport, with some decent views over the countryside of Lazio.
The early evening sun cast a perfect shadow of our Boeing 737 across the fields below, remaining visible right up until we touched down on the runway at Rome Fiumicino Airport — a rather cool sight to witness.
After a relatively short time taxiing across the airport, we came to a stop at our remote parking stand.
Arrival at Rome Fiumicino Airport
As we were at a remote parking stand at Rome Fiumicino Airport, we had to deplane via stairs and be bused to the terminal.
Fortunately, with only around 20 other passengers on board, this process was quick, and within minutes of disembarking, the bus was on its way to the terminal building.
As I’m familiar with Rome Fiumicino Airport, it didn’t take long to walk through the baggage claim area and arrivals hall to the railway station, where I caught a Leonardo Express train to the centre of Rome.
Conclusion
AeroItalia left a perfectly good impression on me, as it ticked all the important boxes for a low-cost airline, such as a low fare, an easy-to-use booking website, and clearly communicated baggage rules, while even offering some pleasant surprises, like a complimentary coffee and tea service.
Although my impressions might be somewhat influenced by the low passenger numbers on board, as I basically had the entire rear of the cabin to myself, I do think AeroItalia is well worth flying with.
Of course, just like with any other low-cost airline, price and schedule will always be the main factors in deciding whether or not I fly with an airline, but if these two factors align again, I would happily fly once more with AeroItalia in the future.
