Hello FlightReporters
At the beginning of January I planned to visit my family in Rome for the first days of February
I choose to stay in Rome from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th
For practical reasons I decided to avoid the train from Milan. Finishing to work at 17 and had to drive one hour to Milan and left the car properly I’d have need to get the train at at least 19:30. This would mean arriving in Rome at 23:00 and at home at least half a hour later.
I checked on Aeroitalia’s website and discovered with disappointment that BGY-FCO was cancelled by the airline. All their operations moved to MXP, definitely too far from the town near Bergamo I live.
Looking to flight with ITA Airways I found this flights:
Friday 7th Feb LIN-FCO 20:00-21:10
Sunday 9th Feb FCO-LIN 20:10-21:10
The price was 180 euros
Having 20k Volare miles saved up I was able to pay the ticket 70 euros only
One week later having booked the flight a dear friend of mine invited me to his birthday on Saturday 8th February
Since I didn’t want to miss it I asked my friend working for AZ to book me the flight on the previous weekend
I payed 110 euros
Regarding the first ticket I got I was able to get airport taxes refunded, which resulted in 63 euros back
THE FLIGHT
The last time I left from Linate I had to drive from San Pellegrino to Milan, park the car and get a shared car
It was quite tiring and at risk of time-loss
Fortunately the long term parking in LIN is charged 30 euros for a weekend
I didn’t think twice
After my work shift ended at 17 I went home to get my baggage and left to Milano at 17:30
Even if the road was a bit busy I arrived at the parking lot at 18:40
The parking area is located at a 10 minute walk from the terminal, but since it was raining I chose to get the shuttle bus. It has a 15 minute frequency and takes 5 minutes to connect to the terminal
I got inside the check in all at 18:50, a bit more than one hour before departure
The online check in had automatically assigned me 27C
I made my way to ITA’s desks to get it changed
The kind lady was able to give me a window seat in the first economy class row of the plane
At first she told me if I wanted to check my trolley, but later on she stopped this option due to the fact the plane was half empty
Security was a breeze
I got airside at 19:15, fifteen minutes before scheduled boarding time
The apron looked quite empty and shining for rain
One of the few ITA Airways birds still carrying the old Alitalia’s livery
As boarding time approached I made my way to boarding gate A19
The plane had arrived from FCO 35 minutes before
My plane for tonight
ITA Airways Airbus A320-200, EI-DTN
First flight on the 1st Dicember 2009 (15.1 years old), delivered to Alitalia and than transferred to ITA
It's equipped with 171 seats in mixed C-Y configuration. The plane is dedicated to cycling legend Fausto Coppi.
(Blue) door shot
Only the first two rows are destined to business class
Boarding was declared complete at 19:47 and minutes later the doors were armed
Minutes before scheduled departure time push back started
We’re parked next to easyJet and Air France A320s
The apron was quite sleepy, only two ITA Airways A220 and A320 were sitting there
Lining up on runway 35
Getting in the air 8 minutes later than scheduled
Moments after taking off the plane was engulfed by clouds
As we climbed we encountered two light turbulences
15 minutes into the flight a drink service was delivered
We spent most of the journey flying in the clouds
The flight spent eventless until the descent was announced
Approaching FCO we passed over Civitavecchia, Rome’s main harbour
Santa Severa, Ladispoli and Fregene, located just north of the runway
We would land on 16R, which is usually used for heavies arrivals
At 20:56, fourteen minutes before scheduled, we touched down at Rome “Leonardo da Vinci” Airport
The landing was rough, but the braking run smooth
Etihad Airways Boeing 787 in Manchester City special livery
Qatar Airways A350
Aeromexico Boeing 787 docked at the satellite
ITA Airways A350
ITA Airways A330neo, Sunwings Boeing 737 and Air Serbia A320 at pier E11-24
A nice ITA’s line up at the pier A31-52
Luxair Boeing 737, ITA Airways and easyJet A320 at pier A61-83
Docking at gate A72, next to this special 50th anniversary Luxair livery
Bye bye blue bird
As my parents were waiting for me outside Terminal 1 I made my way straight to the exit
I got off the plane at 21:10 and took almost ten minuets to reach the pick up lane
