ITA Airways Now Bookable with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

ITA Airways is the modern flag carrier of Italy, and is a member of the SkyTeam alliance. ITA Airways is the successor of the now-defunct Alitalia, and is currently in the process of being integrated into the Lufthansa Group.

Fortunately, passengers are now able to use Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles to make award bookings with ITA Airways, which provides another option for booking flights between Europe and North America.

ITA Airways Now Bookable with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Flights with ITA Airways are now bookable via Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This development provides passengers with access to a greater set of direct flights between Europe and North America, and to connect to the rest of the airline’s network.

This is a particularly interesting development, especially since Lufthansa acquired a minority stake in the airline during the month of May. It’s possible that this redemption opportunity will change once Lufthansa has completed its integration.

Either way, as it stands currently, passengers are able to use Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles for flights on ITA Airways.

Booking ITA Airways is subject to a distance-based chart.

Unfortunately, ITA Airways doesn’t serve any Canadian cities, so you’d have to reposition to a hub in the US to take advantage of the new partnership.

A flight between Rome and West Coast cities such as San Francisco or Los Angeles should cost 37,000 Flying Club miles in economy or 100,000 Flying Club miles in business class.

From the East Coast, a flight to or from Rome should cost 25,500 Flying Club miles in economy or 75,000 Flying Club miles in business class.

Generally speaking, availability looks to be fairly open at the moment, especially for the last quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

Heading into the spring months of 2024, there’s still availability to be found if you look diligently.

The redemption rates aren’t necessarily the most competitive for flying between North America and Europe.

For example, it’s possible to find flights for around half of the cost using a Promo Reward with Air France/KLM Flying Blue. Using Aeroplan, a one-way flight between North America and Italy can cost around 70,000 points in business class with partner airlines.

However, it’s always a positive to have more options, and this is especially beneficial for travellers who value flying direct to Italy.

It’s worth noting that…