ITA Airways (the successor to bankrupt Italian flag carrier Alitalia) has been offering various status match opportunities to its Volare frequent flyer programme, giving elite members of other airlines (including KrisFlyer) the opportunity to get matched all the way to SkyTeam Elite Plus.
This status match is now available again till 15 April 2022.
Volare status match offer
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| Volare Status Match |
ITA Airways’ frequent flyer programme Volare commenced operations at the start of this year, and elite members of the following programmes can now apply for a Volare status match, up till 15 April 2022.
- Aerolรญneas Argentinas โ Aerolรญneas Plus
- Air Europa – Suma
- Alitalia โ MilleMiglia
- Air France/KLM – Flying Blue
- American Airlines – AAdvantage
- ANA โ Mileage Club
- British Airways – Executive Club
- Czech Airlines โ OK Plus
- Delta Airlines โ SkyMiles
- Emirates โ Skywards
- EL Al – Matmid
- Iberia โ Iberia Plus
- Korean Air – SKYPASS
- Lufthansa – Miles and More
- Middle East Airlines โ Cedar Miles
- Qatar Airways – Privilege Club
- Royal Jordanian โ Royal Club
- Saudia – Alfursan
- Singapore Airlines – KrisFlyer
- Swiss Air โ Miles & More
- TAP โ Miles & Go
- Tarom โ Sky Team ( I believe Sky Team is a typo, and it should be FlyingBlue)
- Turkish Airways โ Miles&Smiles
- United Airlines – MileagePlus
Applying for status match
- Sign up for a Volare membership
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Complete the Status Match dedicated request form which you can find in your personal area by entering your personal data and uploading a legible copy of your Frequent Flyer program card of origin (digital or physical) and a copy of your valid identity card (pdf, jpg format)
ITA will contact you by 15 May 2022 to let you know if your application has been successful. Membership of the exclusive Club recognized under the present Status Match campaign will be valid till 15 April 2023.
How are tiers matched?
The Volare programme will have four different tiers:
| Tier | Perks |
| Volare Smart |
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| Volare Plus (SkyTeam Elite) |
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| Volare Premium (SkyTeam Elite Plus) |
|
| Volare Executive (SkyTeam Elite Plus) |
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As a reminder, SkyTeam has only two tiers (like Star Alliance):
| Elite | Elite Plus | |
| Priority Wait List | โ | โ |
| Preferred Seating | โ | โ |
| Priority Check-in | โ | โ |
| Priority Boarding | โ | โ |
| Extra Baggage Allowance | โ | โ |
| Priority Baggage | โ | |
| Lounge Access | โ | |
| Guaranteed Economy Class Seat | โ |
My experience matching from KrisFlyer
I sent in my status match application on 3 November, comprising:
- A screenshot of my KrisFlyer Elite Gold card from the Singapore Airlines app (literally a photo of the screen, since the app annoyingly doesn’t let you take a screenshot of the membership card)
- A copy of my passport (some people tried sending a copy of their NRIC and were rejected)
On 6 November I received an email confirming my upgrade to Volare Premium.
We are pleased to inform you that your request for Status Match to the Volare loyalty program by ITA Airways has been accepted and, from now on, you have joined the Club as a Premium Member.
If you’re a PPS or Solitaire PPS Club member, I’ve seen data points of both Premium and Executive matches, so they don’t seem to have any hard and fast rule here.
Which airlines are part of SkyTeam?
Although SkyTeam has a bit of a reputation for being the “dumping ground” alliance, it’s still got some heavy hitters like Air France, KLM and Delta. Those based in Singapore may also find SkyTeam status useful when flying with China Airlines, Garuda Indonesia or Vietnam Airlines.
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And if you’re headed to Korea for the VTL, you might enjoy some benefits on Korean Air too.
Be advised that data points so far for enjoying SkyTeam benefits via Volare have been mixed. I’ve read a few stories of people flying on Delta or KLM who were denied their benefits, although it’s hopefully just a matter of time before systems are synced and status properly recognised.
Conclusion
While I’d much rather have Star Gold or oneworld Emerald status, I’m not about to pass up a free shot at SkyTeam Elite Plus.
The latest extension gives you until 15 April 2022 to get your application in, and it’s well worth the couple of minutes in my opinion.
Have you tried your Volare status on a SkyTeam airline yet? Any success?
Won’t it mean you’ll have to collect miles in the ITA program rather than Delta or some other SkyTeam airline? That’s the bit that makes me hesitate
By right you can ask them to put different FFP numbers in the FQTV and FQTS fields. FQTV is where you want to accrue, FQTS is which benefits you want to enjoy. In practice most check-in staff will give you a blank look, so another solution is to check in using Volare status and then later at the lounge or boarding gate ask them to change the FFP number on your reservation to the one you want to accrue.
So check in with Volare then asked the lounge to change the FFP to Flying Blue is possible?
Interesting opportunity. Btw there also used to be a pretty easy way to get Skyteam status (send form with proof of KF status) through status match with Garuda. Got Garuda Platinum with a Krisflyer Gold match (this was ~3 years ago so not sure if that still exists).
I thought China Eastern is also part of SkyTeam, so it will be useful for travel to and around Shanghai as well.
I matched Krisflyer gold to the premium tier. Sky team Elite plus is lounge access for guest +1 so not consistent with the chart although that could potentially change.
same here.. KF Gold = Premium
My TK Elite Plus just got matched to Executive status.
my KFEG was matched to Premium
Just got Premium with my Turkish Airlines Gold. Though I still don’t know my FFP number…
I received my welcome email as a Premium member. But lounge access was not listed as one of the perks.
Was matched to the Executive tier with PPS
My PPS Solitaire was matched to Premium only lol
PPS –> Premium…..seems not consistent. I did via website and could not select SQ PPS just silver and gold option, so I added a comment but apparently didn’t work
Same, I have PPS Solitaire and added a comment but only received Premium, not Executive.
“Use the support form in your personal area or send an email to statusmatch@itaspa.com with the following details”
Just wanted to point out that the status match can be done via their form. and it took less than 1hr for me to get approval using a photo of the membership on the phone and passport ID
No QF? That’s interesting, given the Italian diaspora in Australia…
I am very impressed with these guys. I submitted my email for the status match and received the confirmation within 15 minutes!
Anyone knows how to utilize your Volare status on Skyteam flights? I still canโt figure out whatโs my Volare membership number to use!
Volare will send you an email with details. You can also login to website at https://www.itaspa.com/en_gb/ with your ID & PW setup to see details.
Thanks for this, Aaron.. I recently flew inter-EU on Air France and because of your PSA I had a free-of-charge additional piece of check-in luggage of max 32 kg.. ๐๐ป
Previously matched using my KF silver. Recently upgraded to gold, any data points if they can match this new status?
KF Gold = Volare Premium = SkyTeam Elite Plus
fyi tried status match against kris flyer gold and status was valid till 1/24. just submitted last week and received confirmation today.
did anyone try to use ITA Volare Premium with other Skyteam airlines?
It seems no one recognizes the membership yet. I tried to add my membership number via Delta and Airfrance but ITA is not on the list of airlines.
I tried it three times this week. They will allow priority check in and lounge access. But no extra luggage yet (which Iโm hoping for them to add in the future).