INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone,
In mid-January I booked the flights to visit my family on the first weekend of March for <a href="https://flight-report.com/en/report/76815/ryanair-fr6401-milan-mxp-pescara-psr/">my uncle's 80th birthday
[/a]The same day I decided to book tickets for Easter, flying from Milan-MXP to Pescara-PSR
While the weekend for my uncle costed me 45 euros (same route) this one ended up costing almost 170 euros
[/a]
The 26th February I received an e-mail from my Ryanair
My flights had been rescheduled this way:
MXP-PSR departing 3rd April at 6:10
PSR-MXP departing 7th April (on day after) at 6:30
Apart the fact I would have been forced to get two early wake up, this solution meant taking one day off on Friday and half day off on Tuesday, quite a waste honestly
Moreover, landing so early in Tuesday was posing risk of getting much later at work
Considering no other solutions were feasible, I was able to get a full refund from Ryanair
My parents kindly offered to pay the difference with an ITA Airways flight
The cheapest and best solution was this
3rd April LIN > FCO at 17:00
6th April FCO > LIN at 20:00
Total price: 240 euros
On Saturday morning my family and I would have drove to Francavilla (just 2 hours) and we would have come back to Rome on Monday morning
On March 24th I got an e-mail from ITA stating my first leg had been anticipated to 16:30
Nothing problematic
ROUTING
ITA Airways - Milan Linate LIN > Rome Fiumicino FCO - Airbus A319
ITA Airways - Rome Fiumicino FCO > Milan Linate LIN - Airbus A320neo
Some stats:
7th flight of 2026 (as of late April)
Overall great-circle distance flown in 2026 (as of the reported flight): 6.840 km|3.693 nm
13th time on LIN-FCO route
THE FLIGHT
On Friday I got a work permit to leave my office at 13
I wasn't sure about the traffic, being before the Easter weekend
Since official Linate parking was more expensive that weekend I was able to find another one offering an on-demand shuttle service
At 14:40, less than two hours before the flight, I was dropped off at Milano-Linate Airport
The check-in hall was busy, as expected
The day before I got informed via e-mail that the plane was almost full
Free check-in of the baggage was available
I got my BP printed
The lady informed me that Volare frequent-flyer club had ceased operations since April 1st
I was able to add my Miles&More account by the way
Grabbed a quick coffee and made my way to the inspection area
Despite the crowd, the inspection was pretty fast, less than 10 minutes
Dedicating the spare time to some plane-spotting
British Airways A321neo and Air Malta A320neo
<a href="https://flight-report.com/en/report/76815/ryanair-fr6401-milan-mxp-pescara-psr/">ITA Airways line up
two A220s and two A320s
One wearing the Star Alliance livery and another one keeping the 2015 Alitalia's livery
I flew on the former [/a]on my way home from Cairo, last January
Color-less Boeing 737 being operated by Aeroitalia
Lufthansa A320 pulling out to fly back to Frankfurt-FRA
ITA Airways A320 wearing Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics special livery
Such a stunning livery to be honest!
As for the Star Alliance coloured airliner, this is one of the oldest plane in AZ's fleet
A dear friend of mine, working as steward for ITA, told me they're painting older planes in special livery before phasing them out…
Less than one hour before schedule departure my bird showed up at the gate
ITA Airways Airbus A319 EI-IMM
First flight on 26th June 2011 (14.8 years old at the moment of the flight)
Delivered to Alitalia the same month and now part of ITA Airways fleet
Equipped with 144 seats in C-Y mixed configuration
It's dedicated to Marco Simoncelli, the MotoGP racer who tragically passed away in a racing incident at Sepang Circuit, in 2011
The gate opened 20 minutes later
Funnily the screen reported "Bruxelles" as destination, confusing many people
Door mandatory pics
The plane was pretty full
Many furniture were showing the age of the bird
An A220 was sitting between us and a KLM 737
At 16:21 doors were closed
Six minutes after we left the stand, perfectly on time
Luxair Dash 8-400
Aeroitalia 737
We'll soon see the new livery hopefully
Entering the runway seven minutes after scheduled departure time
And taking air soon after
Santa Giulia Arena, who served as ice hockey venue during the Olympics
I attended Italy vs Sweden match on the 11th February, it was pretty funny for the atmosphere (unfortunately the home team lost)
Milan skyline with the Alps behind
CityLife district
Porta Nuove district and the Pirelli Building, next to the main station
The latter is recognizable for the iron vaults
The western sector of the Alps, with Monte Rosa (presumably)
Mediaset broadcasting company headquarters
The Alps sector north of Milan, dominated by Resegone
Pointing southward
Lodi with the Adda river flowing by
Po river marks the border between Lombardy (left) and Emilia-Romagna (right) regions
Milan-Bologna high speed railway bridge (the cable stayed one on the back) and Milan-Napoli A1 motorway viaduct (on the foreground)
Caorso former nuclear power plant
Taro, Baganza and Parma rivers, all flowing from the Appennine to the Po river
Crossing the Appennine
Arno river valley, in Tuscany
Meanwhile, a drink was served
Bolsena lake in the distance
40 minutes into the flight we began the descent
Meanwhile we approached Bracciano Lake
Vatican Radio transmission facility, in Santa Maria di Galeria, 26 km north of Rome
The facility is equipped with many antennas to spread the signal all around the globe
Local residents claim the radiation from the site had caused health issues
In the past years a lawsuit was started against the broadcasting company
Approaching the northern suburbs of Rome
Apparently we'd land from south
This means a descent above the Eternal City before lining up to the runway
Farnesina Building, home of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
The Olympic Stadium and Foro Italico sporting complex
On the right the Olympic Village built for 1960s Olympics, the Palazzetto dello Sport and Flaminio Stadium
Behind it the Auditorium, a three-hall music facility
The City Center, with the Tiber river flowing in the middle
St-Peter's Basilica and the Vatican City
Behind the Castel Sant'Angelo and so called "Palazzaccio", the main court-house
The city center with the Roman Forum, the Circo Massimo and the Termini station behind
His Majesty doesn't need any presentation…
…as the tiniest country in the World
Southern suburbs of Rome covered by some clouds
Rome Ciampino Airport in the distance
Tor Vergata sporting center, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava
Being abandoned mid-construction in 2009, in 2025 it was re-opened for the Jubilee
It's known among Romans as Calatrava's Sail
Banking over the coastline
Zoomarine Acquatic Park, in Pomezia
Lined-up over the Tyrrean Sea
Ostia Antica remains
It used to be Rome's harbour, now being located 5 km behind the shore-ine
Rome-Fiumicino A91 motorway
FCO Long-term Parking
Landing on 34R
At 17:24, sixteen minutes in advance on scheduled, we smoothly touched down at Rome-Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci" Airport
Being welcomed in Rome by an UPS 767F parked at the cargo apron
The Olympic A320 had landed before us, being scheduled 30 minutes before our leg
KLM A321 neo, Brussels Airlines, ITA and Air Franca A320s and a Ryanair 737 docked at pier A61-83
Pulling into gate A51 six minutes before scheduled arrival time
Disembark was pretty quick
The gate is probably the close to the baggage area
As expected the airport was busy
Fortunately my bag emerged from the belt moments after
Made my way to the departure road where my dad was waiting for me
Minutes before 18 we left the airport and drive home
The road was pretty calm, it took less than 30 minutes
Stay tuned for the return
