#26 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
833 reviews
Hello FlightReporters
In 2022 my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary
To celebrate the event we decided to make a family trip between the end of July and the first week of August
The options were Iceland or USA
Even if Iceland seemed interesting for its breathtaking nature, USA appeared to be more suitable for me and my sister, both in our 20s
We planned to fly to Buffalo in order to see Niagara Falls, then drive to New York via Boston and Cape Cod, spending the last days in the Big Apple. We'd already visited NY in 2013 so it would have been the occasion to see new or more uncommon sights. Moreover for me, as an architecture student, it would have been to occasiont to see the city with a different perspective.
The first days of June we started to search for flights
Finding the best combination was a bit difficult. At the end the best solution appeared to be with Delta Airlines, flying to Buffalo via JFK the 25th July and going back home the 5th August
Delta Airlines offers two fares on Economy Class tickets. The cheapest one (Basic) is with carry-on baggage only while the other (Main) includes also a checked baggage. Both of them allows passengers to bring a small bag as additional baggage.
Since 4 hand luggages and 4 checked ones seemes a bit too much we decided to split the booking in two: 2 bookings with checked baggage and 2 with carry-on only.
The first one costs 2324€ while the second 2024€, for a total of 4348€, 1087€ per person
We bought the tickets through Air France website because they're a little bit cheaper than on Delta's one
Despite the cancelled flight to Buffalo it had been a marvellous vacation
Niagara Falls were beyond every expectation, no pics, documentaries or movies can truly express their beauty. Boston was very pleasant as for its surroundings. Cape Cod and New England was really a surprise, a totally different atmosphere from the rest of the Country. New York, I think I don't need words, I truly loved it. It was my second time there, but I really enjoyed it, definitely wanna go there again.
The day before the flight we checked-in through Delta's app
Differently from the inbound flight we're able to see our boarding passes since no passport verification was required
As for FCO-JFK flight we had our seats in the rear cabin of the A330, 58A-B-C-D
To get to JFK from our hotel in Midtown, Manhattan, we had two choices: the metro, which required 45-60 minutes and two transfers (for less than 10$) or the taxi.
Our hotel offered a transfer service for 140$, Uber costed 90-100$ and NY official taxi had a flat rate of 52$. We decided to get the last solution, since the big amount of baggages would have pose an issue on the subway, considering the transfers
Having the flight scheduled for 19:30 we decided to be at the airport no later than 16:30. Knowing that the road to the airport may be busy at that time we left the hotel on West 37th St. at 15:10
We encounter some traffic on the way to the airport, especially driving to Queens
Finally, around 16:00 the taxi left us at New York-John Fitzgerald Kennedy International Airport
The taxi driver charges us 75$ since we're four people and he asked for a tip
All Delta's international flights are handled at Terminal 4, while domestic ones departs from Terminal 2
The Terminal was quite busy
Delta occupies an entire island
Fortunately there was no queue at the counter, but the check-in procedure took around 20 minutes
One of the two checked bags was heavier than the 52lbs limit and we had to move some stuff in the lightest one
We tried to change my sister's seat in order to get another window, but the plane was full
Having two hours to spare before boarding (scheduled for 18:35) I decided to take a short visit to the old TWA Terminal, located just one stop of AirTrain. Meanwhile my family passed through security and would wait me in the departure lounge
The terminal was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and served as TWA's hub from 1962 to 2001. Its thin-shell concrete structure made it an architecture masterpiece among airport terminals. After the opening of JetBlue's Terminal 5 the building was transformed in a hotel, which opened in May 2019
The building seen from the AirTrain
The nearest AirTrain station is Terminal 5, which is located 3-4 minutes walking
Love this logo
Some vintage cars parked in front of the building to enhance the Jet Age's feeling
Old check-in counters converted into the hotel's front desks
Beautiful FIDS
The other check-in wing transformed into food counters
The main lounge has been transformed in a bar
Lockheed L-1649 Starliner
As an aspiring architect I find really stunning how concrete was shaped in a so fluid and light structure
Taking the AirTrain back to Terminal 4 gave me interesting spotting opportunities
JetBlue A321s, Air France Boeing 777 and Delta Boeing 767
British Airways Boeing 777 and LOT Boeing 787 parked at Terminal 7
ITA Airways A350
Air France Triple-7
Lufthansa Boeing 747-8
On the way to T4, Emirates A380 and WestJet Boeing 737
Virgin Atlantic A330
It took me less than 20 to clear security
Only half of the screening lanes were opened and this made the control slower
Our flight shown to be on time and departing from gate B30, as written on the boarding pass
I rejoined my family in the departure lounge, full of nice shops and food and beverages options
The headhouse presents a large glass facade to the apron, giving a good chance of plane spotting
Kuwait Airways Boeing 777
Latam and Virgin Atlantic tails
Singapore airlines A380 parked behind a Delta A319
Delta Boeing 737s and Aeromexico Boeing 787
Terminal 4 is equipped with two piers, named A and B
While the main building has a more interesting architecture, the piers are kinda basic
The holdrooms were quite busy
Delta Boeing 737 parked next to a KLM Boeing 777
Virgin Atlantic A350
Etihad Airways A350
Latam Boeing 777
Aeromexico Boeing 787
Delta A330neo
We reached our gate, B30, in a few minutes
The floght to San Francisco was closing at that moment
A family at the counter was arguing with the agent, maybe because they showed up late. By the way the plane was still parked and connected to the jetbridge
Delta Boeing 767 bound to SFO
Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 and Emirates A380
China Airlines Boeing 777
Delta A220
Delta Boeing 757
Air Serbia A330 heading to Terminal 1
Around 18:00, half a hour before scheduled boarding time, our plane was towed to the gate
According to FlightRadar it landed from Dublin a few hours before
Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-300, N830NW, delivered in January 2017 to Delta Airlines
It's equipped with 282 seats, 34 in J, 21 in W and 227 in Y
Cabin crew arrived around 18:25, ten minutes before scheduled boarding time
The gate was opened 20 minutes after and then started the mess
Boarding was called for groups, starting from DeltaOne, Delta Premium Select, SkyPriority and then Main Cabin 1 and 2
Unfortunately not so many people seemed to understand this system and most of them rushed to the gate trying to get onboard
Moreover one agent was checked really carefully if the passenger screened belonged to the group, while the other one didn't care so much about
Even if we're Main 2 group we sneaked at the counter when Main 1 group was called
30 minutes after the gate opening we got our boarding passes scanned
Delta A330neo parked next to us
No doubts about who rules here at T4
Bye bye New York, hope to see you again soon
Almost onboard
The Purser welcomed me aboard with a smiling "Buonasera"
He also speaked Italian
I gave him the Flight Report form and he told me he'd have brought it to the cockpit
I receive mixed reactions from the crew every time I give this paper. To be honest I was a bit "worried" by the American crew's reaction, due to all the security and safety apprehensions, but fortunately they didn't make questions
In the paper is clearly stated that it can be filled at Captain's discretion, so it didn't pose a big issue for the Purser
Delta Main cabin
58A is located in the last row of the cabin
Fortunately behind the seat there was a bit of space to recline it without issues
The view from my seat as sun started to set
Being among the first to board in Economy gave us a lot of space in the overhead lockers
The plane was filling slowly, maybe due to the chaotic operations at the gate
While boarding came to end the crew distributed a travel kit from Comfort+ cabin and plugs
Doors were armed around 19:40, but a few minutes later they're opened again to let some connecting passengers board
Finally "boarding complete" was called moments after 20:00, half a hour later than scheduled departure time
Meanwhile the safety video was played
Around 20:10 we left the gate
Lights were lowered and mood-lighting turned pink
Delta A330neo
Delta Boeing 737
Delta Boeing 767
American Airlines Boeing 737
El Al Boeing 787 with T4 in the background
Emirates A380s
JetBlue's hub, Terminal 5
Due to traffic (caused by weather limitations) we waited more than 20 minutes stuck on the taxiway
Crossing RWY13L/31R
Unknown Boeing 747, surely cargo
Waiting our turn to depart behind British Airways and American Airlines Triple-7s
We'd depart from runway 22R
45 minutes after leaving the gate the two General Electric engines went full thrust
Goodbye Big Apple
Mood-lighting turning purple after the take-off
Banking over the ocean
Jamaica Bay, JFK Airport and New York City in the background
JFK Airport is surrounded for two sides by water
Climbing over Long Island
Norwalk or Westport
We continued our climb over Connecticut
As a light turbolence was announced, a thunderstorm revealed itself in the distance
First time seeing thunders from a plane, so impressive
(To get this pic I took a short video and than made a screenshot)
One hour into the flight the dinner was served
Since we were in the last row only one food option was available
Quinoa with mixed vegetables
Followed by
Chicken Marsala with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables
To finish
Lemon Blondie brownie
Quinoa salad was quite tasty and refreshing
Chicken had a good taste and perfectly cooked, however it was a bit difficult to cut with that useless toy-cutlery. Mashed potatoes were fine too, while veggies were a bit undercooked
Lemon Blondie was sickly
Service terminated while we approached Newfoundland
After dinner I wore my eye-mask, recline my seat and tried to sleep
The last row seat presented just one additional drawback: the toilet flush noise
By the way I was so tired that I fell into Morpheus' hands in a short time
I slept 5 hours and half
I woke up while breakfast was being served, flying over souther France
Less than one hour to Rome
Breakfast was made of a hot box and a fruit salad
The box contained a cheese and egg bun which was quite good and less drier than it appeared. The fruit salad was very refreshing
Meanwhile we started to fly over Mediterranean Sea
Varazze, in Liguria Region
Piombino, in Tuscany Region
After the breakfast service was over the Purser came to my seat holding the Flight Report form and these two small gifts
I really appreciated them, they'll be definitely a good memory from this vacation
The report was filled very good
The cabin was prepared for landing
Talamone, also in Tuscany Region
Montalto di Castro Power Plant, in Lazio Region
Approaching FCO from north
Bracciano Lake
Aurelia state highway, which connects Rome with France at the Ventimiglia's border
A12 motorway, which passes close to the airport's border
We'd land on RWY16L, which is quite unusual at FCO
Most of the times "heavies" land on parallel runway 16R/34L, due to its proximity to the international terminal, while 16L/34R is used for domestic and European flights
It's not a fixed rule, just a matter of distance between runways and terminals
At 10:29, just four minutes after scheduled arrival time, we touched town at Rome-Leonardo da Vinci International Airport
It's impressive, we took off with one hour and twenty minutes of delay and we landed almost on time
Vacating the runway after a smooth and long landing run
ASL Airlines Boeing 737 parked at the Cargo area
ITA Airways A320s and Poste Air Cargo Boeing 737s
Vueling A320 and Air Europa Boeing 737 parked at the new pier A61-83, opened in May 2022
Pier A1-10, which hosts European flights
Aegean Airlines A320, Norwegian Boeing 737s, airBaltic A220, Volotea A320 and Ryanair Boeing 737
ITA Airways A330
Twin Delta A330 parked at pier E11-24
ITA Airways A350 pained in "Born to be Sustainable" livery
This plane definitely gives an idea on how ITA's livery would have looked if they chose a white style as most of airlines
Air Transat A330
United Airlines Boeing 777
American Airlines Boeing 777
We parked at gate E11 at 10:44
Disembarking I met the Captain and thanked him for the nice gift
I didn't ask to visit the cockpit since I've already seen it on FCO-JFK flight
Bye bye Delta A330
At FCO (as in many other airports) flights coming from countries as USA are part of One-Step-Security policy
This means that disembark happens into the departure lounge and not in a separate arrivals' mezzanine
Obviously it's really useful for connecting passengers, who're not required to clear security again
Heading straight to the baggage reclaim hall
Since the gate we disembark was at the beginning of the pier, it took just a few minutes to reach the immigration hall
There was no queue and the control was made in no time thanks to the e-Gates
The baggage reclaim hall was undergoing a refurbishments and only a few belts were available. By the way it didn't look too busy
We waited less than 10 minutes for our bags to be delivered
After getting off the terminal (and being welcomed by one of the hottest summers in Rome) we took the shuttle bus to the long-term parking and drove home
FCO greeted us with an ITA Airwas A350 landing on RWY34R
Being a red-eye flight I experienced Delta's service less than FCO-JFK flight
The cabin was fine, the meal in line with the expectation and the crew quite kind
JFK is a bit of a mess to be honest, despite its size. The security checkpoint was slow, the terminal was not so clean and the 45-minute taxi was definitely too long
2 Comments
Once again the catering looks kind of....meh. Underwhelming and not particularly appealing to look at (though if it tasted good, that's the essential thing).
Hah, yup, typical JFK! I've had 1h+ taxi times often during the evening TATL departure banks.
Thanks for sharing!
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