Italy’s flag carrier, ITA Airways, has taken delivery of its first A321neo, on lease from Air Lease Corporation, from Airbus’ Hamburg production facility. The new jet will help the airline bolster its medium-haul routes. The aircraft has a three-class layout consisting of 12 Business Class full flat beds with direct aisle access, 12 Premium Economy seats and 141 Economy seats, of which 12 are dedicated to Comfort Economy. In addition to XL-sized overhead storage bins and full-LED lighting, every seat has an in-flight entertainment system with individual displays and on-demand content.

ITA Airways’ all-Airbus fleet currently stands at 81, including the latest-gen A220, A320neo, A330neo and A350 aircraft.

Those travelling to Germany on an Air India flight will appreciate this new development. The carrier has inked an intermodal interline agreement with WorldTicket, the exclusive distributor for Europe’s largest railway operator – Deutsche Bahn.

This enables Air India customers to travel on a single intermodal ticket beyond Frankfurt to over 5,600 train stations in Germany on the Deutsche Bahn network. It especially comes in handy for travelling to cities without airports. Furthermore, the travellers can take train connections to and from Amsterdam, Brussels and Zurich via Air India’s Frankfurt link and benefit from the same baggage allowance as allowed on the flights. WorldTicket, an IATA travel partner, also has its AOC-holding airline – FlexFlight (W2).

Before this partnership, Air India entered into a similar intermodal agreement to provide travellers access to a network of rail and bus operators across the UK, Italy, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. Presently, intermodal tickets are available with travel agents worldwide. Progressively, it will be extended to Air India’s own sales channels.