Hello FlightReporters
At the beginning of January I planned to visit my family in Rome for the first days of February
I choose to stay in Rome from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th
For practical reasons I decided to avoid the train from Milan. Finishing to work at 17 and had to drive one hour to Milan and left the car properly I’d have need to get the train at at least 19:30. This would mean arriving in Rome at 23:00 and at home at least half a hour later.
I checked on Aeroitalia’s website and discovered with disappointment that BGY-FCO was cancelled by the airline. All their operations moved to MXP, definitely too far from the town near Bergamo I live.
Looking to flight with ITA Airways I found this flights:
Friday 7th Feb LIN-FCO 20:00-21:10
Sunday 9th Feb FCO-LIN 20:10-21:10
The price was 180 euros
Having 20k Volare miles saved up I was able to pay the ticket 70 euros only
One week later having booked the flight a dear friend of mine invited me to his birthday on Saturday 8th February
Since I didn’t want to miss it I asked my friend working for AZ to book me the flight on the previous weekend
I payed 110 euros
Regarding the first ticket I got I was able to get airport taxes refunded, which resulted in 63 euros back
THE FLIGHT
After a pleasant weekend with family it was time to go home
With the flight scheduled at 20 I asked my parents to bring me at the airport around 19
We left home at 18:30 and minutes after 19 my parents dropped me at FCO’s Terminal 1
Since the self check-in gave me a middle seat I went to ITA’a counters to change it
The agent told me the seats were blocked due to weight and balance, however she told me the plane was not full
She asked me if I wanted to check my luggage and I agreed
Even if the check-in hall seemed a bit empty the security area was quite busy
Almost all the lanes were opened
I clear the inspection in 5 minutes
As boarding time was approaching I went straight to my gate, A45
I got there at 19:20 and people were already scanning their BPs
Tonight's bird
ITA Airways Airbus A220-100, EI-HCL
First flight on 23rd February 2024 (almost one year old) and delivered to AZ in March
It's dedicated to Gianluigi Buffon, widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of all times
Blue door
Making my way to the back of the plane, where my assigned seat (19E) was located
As boarding was getting to the end I moved to 23A
ITA’s new mom A321 bound to Munich parked next to us
Boarding was declared completed ten minutes before departure time
Pushing back exactly at 20
Mood lighting turning blue and green for take off
Taxiing was quite quick
We would depart behind a couple of Wizz air and Eurowings A320s
A quarter of hour later than scheduled we began our journey
Terminal 1
Terminal 3
Runway 16L/34R and Fiumicino town behind
Immediately after take off we banked over the Tyrrean Sea and every light disappeared
Climbing we encountered two short turbolenze
A few minutes into the flight a drink service was provided
Half a hour after leaving Rome the cabin was set for arrival
Approaching Milan from south
A1-A50 motorways’ junction
San Giuliano Milanese
San Donato Milanese, located just south of Linate Airport
Two minutes before scheduled we smoothly touched down at Milano Linate Airport
The apron was kinda busy, with an ITA Airways A320 still carrying the last Alitalia’s livery
Taxing lasted zero time and disembark was quite fast
The blue bird really looked good from ground
In a couple of minutes we’re bussed to the terminal
The baggage reclaim area was quite crowded due to a few flights arriving at the same time
Bags were delivered almost immediately
After getting a sandwich for dinner I took the shuttle bus to the parking and drove home
I got the car around 22 and arrived in San Pellegrino one hour later
