Hello everyone
As Christmas time approached I investigated the best solution to visit my family in Rome
Being out-of-office from 24rd Dicember to 2nd January I searched for flights or trains from the 23rd evening to the 30th evening. This was done in order to celebrate NYE with my friends in northern Italy
I checked Aeroitalia from BGY (my current home airport) and the flight schedule was not feasable with my needs, also considering each leg was around 100 euros with bag only
ITA offers hourly flights from LIN (50 km from my home) but for 120 euros one way
Trenitalia and Italo train operators had the same prices
I asked a dear friend of mine who works for AZ and he found me a good solution for 110 euros in total
23rd Dic LIN-FCO 20:00-21:10
30th Dic FCO-LIN 19:00-20:10
Leaving Milan at 20 would give me enough time to leave my office near Bergamo at 17, drive to Milan, leave the car and get to LIN in time
Arriving in LIN at 20.10 would mean be home around 22
Both tickets came with checked luggage
THE FLIGHT
On the departure day I was soft of work so I asked my manager if I could leave around 16.30
I left San Pellegrino at that time and drove straight to Milan
It took me around 1 hour and 15 mins to get to my old house zone, known to be full of free parking spaces
While arriving I checked my usual car sharing app and found a free car
I swap cars around 17.55 and twenty minutes later I parked at Milano-Linate Airport
At first I had checked for the long term parking in LIN, but a week costed around 70 euros
Quite pointless for a flight paid 110
The check in hall was quite crowded
ITA Airways handles its operation at the far end of the terminal
I checked my bag and was able to change my assigned seat (5C) into a window one (7F)
The agent told me the flight was full
Having nothing else to do I pointed immediately to the inspection area
Despite the crowd only 4 lanes out of 10 were opened
It took me 10 minutes to jump airside
The departure lounge decorated for Christmas
Some spotting
ITA Airways A320 docked at the gate with a British Airways bird parked in the distance
My BP reported A19 as boarding gate, a contact one
By the way around boarding time the gate was changed into A7, a bus one
Tonight's bird
ITA Airways Airbus A220-100, EI-HDL
First flight on 24th September 2024 (less than 3 months old) and delivered to AZ in October
It's dedicated to Sara Anzanello, an Italian volleyball player dead in 2018 at the age of 38 for a cancer
Shiny new
As we queued to board a twin brother was pulling into the gate next to ours
The cabin was smelling new
Only the first 3 rows were dedicated to Business Class
ITA A319 as neighbour
The seat was quite comfortable and equipped with both a tray table and a phone older
Legroom was good
Around 20 boarding was declared completed and doors armed
We left the stand momento after
Mood lighting turned green for departure
Reaching runway 35 in a matter of minutes
Eleven minutes after scheduled the two PWs went full thrust with a pleasant noise
Banking southward over Segrate…
…leaving LIN behind us
Milan looks like a sea of lights
As we reached our cruise altitude mood lighting was turned blue
A beverage service was delivered
I chose a sugar-free coke
Being at work the whole day had made me tired, so I rested for around 20 minutes
The engine hiss was quite helping
Spotting FCO in the distance as we started our descent
Arriving from North and landing from South means a long banking over the Tyrrean sea
Green again for landing
Descending parallel to the coastline
We would land on runway 34R
Crossing Rome-Fiumicino motorway in the last moments on air
At 21.10, perfectly on schedule, we smoothly touched down at Rome-Fiumicino International Airport
The brake was short but soft
In five minutes we reached the terminal area, welcomed by a Malta Air Boeing 737
Docking at pier A31-52
The jetway was connected in moments
Getting off the plane 15 minutes after touching the ground
Heading to the baggage reclaim hall already feeling Christmas mood
The baggages took around 10 minutes to be delivered
Once outside I met my parents and we headed straight home
I stepped inside around 22.10
Thank you for the attention, stay tuned for the return and Merry Christmas to every
