INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone,
After my graduation in Architecture in July 2021 I apply for a Master’s Degree at Milan Politecnico. The application was successful and therefore I move to Milan on 10th September.
The 8th December is a national religious feast in Italy and this year it falls on Wednesday. Moreover in Milan there's a local feast on 7th December. This means that universities, schools and workplaces would be closed even on Monday 6th.
Having this elongated weekend I decided to visit my family from Saturday 4th to 8th December.
Usually high speed train is the most convenient way to travel between Milan and Rome. It takes around 3 hours and the cost ranges between 50€ and 100€, depending on offers. I check both Trenitalia's (State-owned rail company) and Italo's (private rail operator) websites, but the price was 210€ and 190€ respectively.
I gave a look to Alitalia ehm ITA Airways and the price was 146€. Since I live quite close to Milan-Linate Airport (5km from my home) I decided to go for this option. The price included only the cabin baggage, which is quite a drawback for me, but the lower price made the choice mandatory.
To be honest I was quite curious to try the new italian flag carrier ITA Airways. Being italian and knowing how things go in our Country I still have more than one doubt about the entire operation, but I hope this would end the permanent crisis of italian flag carrier. Finger-crossed for ITA.
Flight routing
- 1
- 2AZ2092 - Economy - Rome → Milan - Airbus A320
before the flight
The evening before the flight I checked-in through ITA Airways' app, which still had some issues, especially with the frequent flyer log-in
In general it works normally
Since boarding was planned for 16:25 I asked my family to bring me at the airport no later than 15:15
We left home around 14:45 and we found no trafic on the ring road motorway, due to the fact that the 8th December is a national feast in Italy
Perfectly in my plans we arrived at Rome "Leonardo da Vinci" International Airport at 15:14
ITA Airways operations are handled at Terminal 1, which was the original hub of Alitalia
At the moment it hosts other european airlines like Aegean, Air Europa, Air France, Vueling, Ryanair and many others…
The terminal has been recently extended with a new portion that contains a bigger security checkpoint and a duty free to access the departure lounge. It's part of an expansion plan that will bring a new pier by Spring 2022
The FIDS is part of a very long screen wall with advertisments and artistic images
Having a bit of spare time I went to the check-in desk to get my BP printed
The agent sent me to a SkyPriority desk and this resulted in a red BP, typically given by Alitalia and now ITA to premium passengers
My ID and European Covid Pass were checked too
Having nothing to do landside I made my way to the security check-point, still smelling new for the recent opening
Even if there was no queue the control took around 10 minutes
My lane was a bit crowded and things got a bit messy
Time to visit the new duty free area, opened just one week before (1st December)
It has been described as the largest Aelia Duty Free shop in the world, spanning 3.000 sqm
The new departure lounge, linking piers A1-10 and A31-59, will feature shops and additional bus gates
Having around 40 minutes before boarding (scheduled for 16:25) I went straight to boarding area E, where my flights would depart from
The gate would be showed at 15:50
Boarding area E used to host all extra-Schenghen flights, but since the beginning of the pandemy it's mainly used by Schenghen operations
And this applies also to the massive shopping lounge
Anyone who flew at FCO before 2015/16 maybe remember how the airport was anonymous. Now its facilities are, in my opinion, at the level of the best European and global hubs
Luxury planes
A bit of spotting, very difficult due to the lack of large windows
Ryanair Boeing 737s and Vueling A320 parked at gate A1-10
Qatar Airways Boeing 787 at the satellite terminal (Gates E31-44)
My gate was showed on the screens at the exact time: E11, the one I disembark 5 days before
Pier E11-24
The idea of putting pianos inside the terminal is so nice and gives the departure lounge a warm and familiar feeling
After grabbing a coffee I sat in front of the gate waiting for the boarding time, 16:25, but nothing happened
Ten minutes after scheduled a pre-boarding started while passengers where allowed to get onboard with a twenty minutes delay
More than 20 minutes after the scheduled boarding time ITA Airways sent me this message
They should change their name's settings…
Time to go back to my (second) home
THE FLIGHT
Our plane for today
ITA Airways Airbus A320-200, EI-DTA, delivered to Alitalia in December 2008 (13.0 years old) and transferred to ITA Airways in October 2021
Formerly named "Ada Negri"
The plane is equipped with 171 seats in flexible C-Y configuration
Door shot…
…and fuselage shot
I made my way to seat 20F, automatically assigned by the check-in system
The row was empty since the plane was not full as LIN-FCO
At 17:12, twelve minutes after scheduled departure, we pushed back
The crew didn't explain the cause of this small delay, but nobody seemed to care about it
British Airways and ITA Airways A320s
The latter is EI-DSZ, still painted in AirOne livery
AirOne became part of AZ Group in 2008 and ceased its operations 2014
Pier E11-24 taxiing to RWY25
Air Europa Boeing 787 parked at pier A1-10
ITA Airways triple-7
Almost 25 minutes after scheduled we started our take off run
Crossing RWY16R/34L
Focene, a coastal town near FCO
As announced before by the Captain we passed through a light turbolence
Fortunately it was not so shaky
Twenty minutes into the flight lights went on for a drink service
Orange juice for me
Immediately after the beverage service the Captain announced that we'd began shortly our descent into Linate Airport
Another thick layer of clouds, another light turbolence
Finally the city appeared below us
Fields were painted white since a light snow felt in the morning over Milan
The runway was surrounded by a thin layer of snow
At 18:18, less than ten minutes after scheduled, we touched down at Milan-Linate Airport
Landing was a bit bumpy and the brake rough
Remote stand for tonight, fortunately my coat is cold-proof
Disembark was called row-by-row and due to the double exit it was faster that a few days ago
Even if the snow on the ground had already melted (2°C when we landed) it still covered stairs and airport vehicles
We were bussed to the terminal in a couple of minutes
Having no hold baggege I went straight to the exit
Since I live quite close to the airport I tried to grab a car sharing, but the parking lot was empty
There were just two, but one was booked and the other one "out-of-service"
Airport view from the multi-level parking. Love this snowy atmosphere
I took two buses to Lambrate Station where I got the metro to go home (one stop from there). It took me around 45 minutes
Since the bus started from the airport it was empty and it was possible to take a seat
I got off the terminal at 18:30 and I arrived home at 19:50. Considering I lost around 20 minutes trying to find a car sharing it's a reasonable amount of time from plane-to-home. Such a comfortable airport…
See you at the next report!
Thanks for the very comprehensive report.
I was always happy to fly Alitalia, there doesn't see that many changes since ITA except the snack disapeared just the drinks..
Lookint forward to fly with ITA and really a shame for the latest alitalia livery i really like it
Thank you!
They also change their orange juice. The original was red and now it's orange LoL
I really hope they get stronger than the previous here. The livery is a pity, the Landor one was amazing, but I trust in the ability of one of the many designers we have in our country or somewhere else. Wish you to try it soon ;)
Excellent report Carlo! It must've been an experience landing in snow
Thanx! It was my first time landing in snow, such a pity it was too dark outside to appreciate the snow on the ground