Hello everyone
This short report will cover a weekend in Rome visiting my family, in mid-November
The occasion would be my sister's graduation and the first time seeing my family after two months
One month before I checked the best solution to get to Rome from nearby Bergamo
Since train (from Milano) and plane (from BGY) costed around the same, I chose the latter
The choice was motivated by practical reasons: getting to Rome by train means for me driving 1 hr to Milan (after work, so in rush time), parking the car and taking the metro to the station
While leaving from BGY means only a short car ride from my workplace
Here's the chosen solution:
Despite my terrible experience with Aeroitalia last Easter (7hrs of delay on FCO-BGY) I saw no alternatives
ROUTING
XZ2224 - Economy - Bergamo → Rome - Boeing 737-400
XZ2225 - Economy - Rome → Bergamo - Boeing 737-400
THE FLIGHT
With the flight leaving at 19 I asked a collegue of mine to bring me to BGY at 17.30
Even if the distance is reasonable (28 kms), the road tends to be quite busy at that time
We left work around 16.40
At 17.30 he left me in front of Milan-Bergamo "Il Caravaggio" Airport
The landside didn't seem crowded to be Friday afternoon
Making my way straight to the inspection area
Half of the lanes were opened
As I was approaching one I found myself behind 3-4 old people
Fortunately the agent showed up at the right time opening a new lane next to mine
I cleared security in a couple of minutes
FIDS showing my flight to be on-time, boarding at gate A13
According to them, the flight is operated by "4Airways", a Malta-based airline specialized in ACMI and wet-leasing
BGY has quite a good airside shopping area
Atalanta shop, the local football team strongly supported by people from Bergamo
The food court offers a nice selection of restaurants and bars
The departure lounge was a bit busy, but a good amount of seating was available
Some spotting:
Wizzair A321, a couple of Ryanair Boeing 737 Max and a Malta Air's one
My gate was set for departure
Our plane had landed from Perugia at 17.25
Perfectly on time, at 18.20, boarding operations began
We're carried by bus to our bird:
Aeroitalia Boeing 737-400, 9H-FOR
The plane took its first flight the 1st Febraury 1991
With almost 34 years of service this is the oldest bird I've ever flown with
Since I was given 17E by the automatic check-in system I made my way to the back door
Talking about check-in, I just wanna take a moment to make an appreciation on Aeroitalia's mobile app
The app works quite well, it's easy to navigate and offers everything a passenger needs, from the booking to check-in, passing throug additional services purchase
Definitely a good job!
Door shot
The plane was not full, I roughly counted 50 passengers
I "upgraded" myself to 14A, on the emergency exit row
The legroom was very good
Looking around the plane really shows its age: the general design was very old-style, walls were a bit dirty, labels redundant and some tape was present on armrests and overhead lockers
By the way, the seat itself was clean and comfortable enough
Boarding ended in a short time and minutes after scheduled departure we left the stand
After a bit long taxi we lined up on runway 10, pointing westward
Leaving the ground at 19.13
Even if I was close to the wing, engines seemed less loud than expected
OrioCenter shopping mall, located right in front of the airport terminal
It's among the largests in Europe
Banking southward and enjoying a wonderful full-moon
Considering I was tired as hell after a week of work and my phone was lacking of battery I switched it off and closed my eyes
I napped for a while, waking up as the crew announced the descent
Rome appearing below us as a sky full of stars
Flying over the southern part of Rome (an area called "Castelli Romani", Roman Castles) before turning northward and lining up to the runway
Banking over Tyrrean sea
Ostia, a few miles south of FCO
We would land on runway 34R
The long term parking with the terminal area in the background
Runway 7-25 was undergoing resurface
At 20.06, four minutes before planned, we touched down at Rome "Leonardo da Vinci" Airport
Landing was kinda rough, while the braking was gentle
In a few minutes we reached our parking area, close to a twin brother
Disembarking I was able to take better pics of this oldie
Welcomed at the terminal building by banner reporting FCO's achievements
Totally deserved!
The arrival hall was a bit crowded, but totally in line being Friday evening
40 minutes after putting the landing gears on the runway I met my parents an we immediately pointed home
It took us twenty minutes
Stay tuned for the return flight
AeroItalia's fleet is such a hodge podge of different aircraft leased from different sources. It's kind of crazy to think a relatively new airline is using such old leased aircraft. I guess they're just growing so fast they need a lot of aircraft. These 4 Airways leased 737-400s are definitely old, and the cabins have seen better days, but the seats look pretty comfortable. It's also cool to be able to fly a 737-400 these days, as they've become pretty rare.
Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure Kevin ;)
Yeah, it's a strange mixture of machines and definitely those 737-400s has seen more glorious days. Btw those seats are quite comfortable for a 2.5 max hours flight
From a "scientific" point of view I appreciated the fact I was able to check the 737-400 on my pane list
Ciao Carlo, thanks for sharing this series on the classic 737s. Is "Aeroitalia Regional" a branded sub-product for the leased 4 Airways planes? The plane is definitely work out inside, but its at least unique flying on these relics with their rectangular PSU buttons and completely stainless steel bathrooms.
Hey there
My pleasure, it's surely a unique FR in my list
I think Aeroitalia Regional is a brand for their leased planes, I should inform more about it
Was quite unusual to see many stuff that are not common anymore on planes, definitely an experience
Wish you a very good 2025 full of flights!