Italy’s flag carrier ITA Airways confirmed on 24 December that its last Airbus A330-200 will bid farewell on a Rome–Boston rotation on New Year’s Eve. Flights to Delhi and New York will switch to A330-900neos on 29–30 December, completing the phasing-out of an aircraft type inherited from Alitalia.
The younger A330-900neo offers 14 percent lower fuel burn, a new AirSpace cabin and full-flat business-class beds aligned with Lufthansa Group standards—symbolic given Lufthansa’s minority stake in ITA. For corporate travel programmes, the change means updated seat maps, altered baggage-hold layouts and different airport-handling codes (from 332 to 339).
Mobility managers moving staff between Italy and the United States or India should update booking tools and notify travellers of revised in-flight connectivity and seat-selection policies. Group allocations issued for the outgoing aircraft may need re-confirmation. While the transition brings environmental gains and brand consistency, it briefly tightens capacity: three returned A330-200s will ferry to Brazil’s Azul for re-lease in early 2026, leaving ITA with 12 neos until additional deliveries arrive in June.
![ITA Airways Retires A330-200 Fleet, Alters Long-Haul Product for Expat Routes]()
The carrier says the fleet simplification supports its 2026 carbon-intensity targets and lowers maintenance costs, freeing capital for its planned trans-atlantic joint venture. Analysts see the move as another milestone on ITA’s march toward fuller integration with Lufthansa and potential Star Alliance membership.
For travel departments juggling these operational tweaks, VisaHQ’s Italy platform (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) consolidates U.S. ESTA waivers, India e-Visas and other documentation in one dashboard, pushes real-time status alerts and feeds approvals back into most corporate booking engines—minimizing disruption when aircraft swaps force last-minute itinerary changes.
Passengers booked on the final A330-200 services are being offered free re-routing or the option to experience the upgraded cabins by shifting travel dates. Visa-support firms remind travellers that U.S. ESTA and India e-Visa processing times can still spike over year-end holidays—corporate travellers should double-check documentation well ahead of 31 December.
The younger A330-900neo offers 14 percent lower fuel burn, a new AirSpace cabin and full-flat business-class beds aligned with Lufthansa Group standards—symbolic given Lufthansa’s minority stake in ITA. For corporate travel programmes, the change means updated seat maps, altered baggage-hold layouts and different airport-handling codes (from 332 to 339).
Mobility managers moving staff between Italy and the United States or India should update booking tools and notify travellers of revised in-flight connectivity and seat-selection policies. Group allocations issued for the outgoing aircraft may need re-confirmation. While the transition brings environmental gains and brand consistency, it briefly tightens capacity: three returned A330-200s will ferry to Brazil’s Azul for re-lease in early 2026, leaving ITA with 12 neos until additional deliveries arrive in June.
The carrier says the fleet simplification supports its 2026 carbon-intensity targets and lowers maintenance costs, freeing capital for its planned trans-atlantic joint venture. Analysts see the move as another milestone on ITA’s march toward fuller integration with Lufthansa and potential Star Alliance membership.
For travel departments juggling these operational tweaks, VisaHQ’s Italy platform (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) consolidates U.S. ESTA waivers, India e-Visas and other documentation in one dashboard, pushes real-time status alerts and feeds approvals back into most corporate booking engines—minimizing disruption when aircraft swaps force last-minute itinerary changes.
Passengers booked on the final A330-200 services are being offered free re-routing or the option to experience the upgraded cabins by shifting travel dates. Visa-support firms remind travellers that U.S. ESTA and India e-Visa processing times can still spike over year-end holidays—corporate travellers should double-check documentation well ahead of 31 December.
