INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone,
On the 4th March my uncle turned 80
Therefore, he invited all of us to celebrate his birthday in Francavilla, where I've my house-by-sea
He planned the party for the following Saturday, at lunch
In the first days of the year he confirmed the day and I immediately searched for flights
It was the 12nd January
The closest airport to Francavilla is Pescara (PSR), where I've flown a few times
Ryanair offers flight both from Bergamo (BGY) and Milan-Malpensa (MXP)
Living 20 minutes driving from the first one I started to search flights from there
Unfortunately, no flight was scheduled for Friday afternoon nor Saturday morning, only in the afternoon
Moreover , the return was planned for early Sunday morning, like 7AM
No deal
Therefore I moved to search flights from MXP
The obvious choice was the 18:00 flight, however it would have pose a big issue for me
Being at MXP at that time would have meant leaving my job at 13 and drive through Friday traffic of Milan, meaning a high risk of rush
I decided to get the earliest flight of the Saturday
Leaving that early would have meant for me to leave late in the night
Being a night animal this wasn't an issue
For the return I chose the latest option
The whole solution costed me 45 euros
On the same day I booked the same flights for Easter (Friday evening to Sunday evening) and the price was 170 euros
3.8x for the SAME ROUTE is incredible…
ROUTING
Ryanair - Milan Malpensa MXP > Pescara PSR - Boeing 737-800
Ryanair - Pescara PSR > Milan Malpensa MXP - Boeing 737-800
Some stats:
5th flight of 2026 (as of March)
Overall great-circle distance flown in 2026 (as of the reported flight): 5.807 km|3.136 nm
2nd time on MXP-PSR route
BEFORE THE FLIGHT
The day before I checked-in through Ryanair's app
I wasn't assigned a window seat, however I wasn't upset about
The flight was early as hell and I didn't expect the plane to be fully loaded
I also booked a long-term parking for 25 euros, with on-demand shuttle bus service
The official Malpensa parking costed 33 euros and the shuttle has a 30' headway at that early time
THE FLIGHT
Friday evening was pretty funny
I hang out with my friends to drink something (alcohol free), went home around midnight, packed my bag, watched some TV and grabbed my car to the airport around 2:10 AM
The 105-km ride to MXP can take around 80-90' in normal conditions (no talk about rush hours)
At 3:15 I arrived at the parking lot
The procedure to leave the car was a bit slow, while the ride took less than 10 minutes
Moments after 3:30 I was dropped of at Milan-Malpensa "Silvio Berlusconi" Airport
Entrance canopies had been recently updated for the 2026 Winter Olympics
The check-in hall was busier than expected, but still feeling "sleepy"
A lot of people were resting on the benches all around
My flight was the 5th scheduled for the day
6th if considering the delayed ride to Muscat from the evening before
The apron was totally "unalive"
Some birds by Neos, Ryanair and Air France were resting
Heading straight to the security inspection
The area was still hosting a fast track for the Olympics
That evening the Paralympics were inaugurated
The control was pretty busy and somehow messy
It took around 10 minutes to get airside
Two hours before my scheduled departure time
The passage through the shopping area really felt different with everything still closed
Only a couple of coffee shops were operating
The scheduled gate was A59, located at the far end of the ground floor boarding area
A lot of people were sleeping
I got there around 4:00 AM
I spent around one hour resting on a chair
I'm not really able to sleep with strong lights and this is helpful when sleeping is a risk
At 5AM the boarding procedures started
After waiting for 5-10 minutes before getting on the shuttle we're carried at the plane
Ryanair Boeing 737-800 9H-QEY
First flight on 30th January 2006 (20.1 years old at the moment of the flight)
Delivered to Ryanair the following February and transferred to Malta Air since January 2024
Equipped with 189 seats in full-Y mixed configuration
When I got onboard there was some confusion with the hostess
I said "good evening" and she correctly said "good morning"
The plane was showing it's 20-year history
Since the plane was 50% full I waited for the "boarding completed" announcement to seat
I moved from my assigned 19D to 17F, on the emergency exit row
The foggy window didn't give any hint of the outside
At 5:30 the doors were closed
Leaving the stand perfectly on schedule, at 5:45
Lights lowered for departure
We reached runway 17R in five minutes
Most of the time operations at MXP are carried from south to north
However, at landings happen from south to north while departures do the opposite
This is done to avoid planes flying over the nearby town of Somma Lombardo
At 5:50 we got airborne
No need to say I felt asleep in zero time
I woke up 30 minutes later with sun setting over the Adriatic Sea
Meanwhile the moon was still in the sky
40 minutes into the flight the cabin was set for landing
Flying by the Apennines while descending
Landings at PSR are prepared over the sea
Pescara and Montesilvano town
Pescara coastline
Mediterraneo Square, one of the main in Pescara
Pescara Centrale railway station
Last moments in the air over Pescara suburbs
At 6:45, twenty minutes in advance, we roughly touched down at Pescara-Abruzzo Airport
The landing was more Ryanair than usual
Reaching the stand moments after, parking next to a twin brother
Two nice birds at PSR
The Bombardier Challenger 3500 belongs to Ryanair for its corporate operations
The Cessna Citation CJ2 is from a private jet company called Air Pannoia
Saying goodbye to our bird
Meanwhile a WizzAir A321 landed from Bucharest-OTP
Getting off the terminal less than 15 minutes after touching the ground
My father arrived 5 minutes later
Give him a big cheer for the early wake up on Saturday
After a short ride we arrived near home where we got breakfast
No need to say I wasn't able to fall asleep again
No need to say I literally died on Saturday evening
But the family gathering was worth the effort!
Stay tuned for the return
