In Fall 2023, ITA Airways announced the upcoming launch of flights from Rome to Toronto. As of January 3, 2024, the airline has loaded flights into its schedule, which can now be booked through the summer months.
As a reminder, flights with ITA Airways became bookable with Air France KLM Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club in 2023, which means that there’s a new way to fly from Canada to Italy on points.
ITA Airways’s New Rome–Toronto Route
Beginning in May 2024, ITA Airways will operate a direct flight between Rome (FCO) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ).
As per Aeroroutes, the service is set to begin on May 10, 2024 with 6x weekly flights, increasing to daily service from June 1–September 30, 2024. In October, the service drops down to 5x weekly before ending on October 26, 2024.
The westbound flight from Rome is set to run just under 10 hours, and the eastbound flight from Toronto is set at 8 hours 35 minutes.
Upon the route’s launch, the flight information is as follows, keeping in mind that the flight times change slightly depending on when you book:
- AZ650 Rome (FCO)–Toronto Pearson (YYZ), departing 10:15am and arriving 2:05pm
- AZ651 Toronto Pearson (YYZ)–Rome (FCO), departing 5:15pm and arriving 7:50am the next day
ITA Airways will primarily operate the Airbus A330-900neo aircraft on the route, with economy, premium economy, and business class cabins available.
The flights are loaded into ITA Airways’s schedule, and can be booked throughout the seasonal schedule.
Booking ITA Airways’s New Rome–Toronto Flight
With ITA Airways’s new Rome–Toronto flights now loaded into the airline’s schedule, it’s now possible to make redemptions for Summer 2024 travel to Italy and beyond.
As a reminder, flights with ITA Airways became bookable with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club in July 2023, and with Air France KLM Flying Blue in November 2023.
At the time of writing, award flights didn’t appear in Flying Club; however, there was some scattered availability through Flying Blue.
A one-way flight from Toronto to Rome in business class prices out at 74,500 miles plus $203.46 in taxes and fees.
The cost in points is the same for a flight from Rome to Toronto, with marginally higher taxes and fees.
Oddly enough, there wasn’t any availability for award flights in economy at the outset.
It’s worth noting that you can book flights with Air France and KLM for less than the cost of flying with ITA Airways. The baseline price for business class with Air France and KLM is 20,000 miles in economy, 30,000 miles in premium economy, and 50,000 miles in business class.
Plus, you may even be able to get a better deal with the monthly Promo Rewards.
However, if you value direct flights, then you should consider booking with ITA Airways as one of your options.
Keep in mind that Air Canada and Air Transat also operate direct flights between the two cities.
With Aeroplan, the flight between Rome and Toronto measures 4,415 miles, which means that we’d need to reference the second distance band of the “Between North American and Atlantic zones” chart for award pricing.
In theory, a direct flight with Air Canada should price out as follows:
- Economy: 40,000–70,000 points
- Premium economy: 60,000–90,000 points
- Business class: 70,000–180,000 points
In practice, you can expect to find prices at or above the upper end of the dynamic spectrum, especially in business class.
Therefore, if you’re eyeing up a trip from Toronto to Italy, it’s worthwhile to check all of your options, including now through Flying Blue.
Conclusion
In May 2024, Rome-based ITA Airways will launch a new route from Rome (FCO) to Toronto Pearson (YYZ), initially operating 6x weekly and moving to daily from June–September.
Fortunately, flights with ITA Airways can be booked with Air France KLM Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which means that there’s now another option for flying direct from Canada to Italy on points.
By all measures, ITA Airways’s business class product looks to be great, so be sure to keep an eye out for award availability if you’d like to try it out.
