INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone
While I was in Rome for Easter 2026 a friend of mine working for ITA Airways invited my for a short trip to Paris the following weekend (10-12 April)
He was supposed to fly there on service from FCO, while I should have arrived from LIN
The ticket was 110 euros
I choose the 19:10 flight on Friday in order to ask 1-hour of work permit only
He booked the flight for me on Tuesday evening
ROUTING
ITA Airways - Milan Linate LIN > Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG - Airbus A319
ITA Airways - Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG > Milan Linate LIN - Airbus A220-100
Some stats:
9th flight of 2026 (as of June)
Overall great-circle distance flown in 2026 (as of the reported flight): 7.955 km|4.295 nm
1st time on LIN-CDG route
THE FLIGHT
On Friday I left my work-place at 16
By that time some traffic was building up on the 60-km trip from San Pellegrino to Linate
Around 17:30 I dropped my car at the long term parking
The registration was a bit slow, but I was totally on my schedule
Moments before 17:50 the shuttle bus left my at Milano-Linate Airport
ITA's desks were empty
Flying with a "crew" ticket I was able to check-in my luggage without issues
Got my boarding pass printed
Fortunately, online check-in has me assigned a window seat
Heading to gate A17
The inspection area looked pretty busy
That day a strike was undergoing in the country for reasons I don't remember
The control was pure mess
Half of the lanes were closed
Moreover, 2/3 of bags were sent to the additional inspection area, than re-screened and cleared without issues
The worst inspection I've ever got at Linate
It took me whole 20 minutes to get airside, much more compared to the average 5 mins…
The departure hall was quite bustling
Some spotting on my way to the gate
easyJet A320 about to get towed out
British Airways and Finnair A320s with some ITA's birds in the distance
Gate A17 is a remote one
At boarding time everything seemed still calm
Brussels Airlines A320
Aeroitalia Boeing 737
15 minutes before 19 the gate was opened
However, once onboard the bus, an announcement about technical issues was made
Further updates were expected in 10-15 minutes
Meanwhilte an easyJet A321neo was pulling in
The plane was carrying a special livery celebrating the 400th aircraft delivered to the low-fare airline
At 19 the bus departs toward the plane, apparently everything was fixed
This Iberia A321 is the one that bring me back from MAD the last December 2025
Air Dolomiti Embraer E-190
Finally getting at the plane
ITA Airways Airbus A319 EI-IMX
First flight on 9th January 2013 (13.2 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 Novella Calligaris, the first Italian to win an olympic medal in swimming, in 1972
Since 2024 the plane carries a sticker celebrating the 160th anniversary of Italian Red Cross
Waiting to board, some more interesting spotting
Avionord (an Italian private jet operator) Learjet 40
This Gulfstream G450 belongs to luxury fashion brand Prada
An Austrian Airlines E-Jet pulling it
The sun was setting behind Milan skyline
Getting onboard at 19:10, the exact scheduled departure time
The plane was showing its age, still carrying old AZ interiors
Legroom was good
An easyJet A320 was sitting next to us
Ten minutes later than scheduled doors were closed
We left the gate moments after
This ATR-42 belongs to DAT and operates Ancona-AOI to Rome-FCO and Milano-LIN flights under "Voli delle Marche" brand
Lining-up with more than 30 mins of delay
Enter text here…
Getting into air
The sunset light was superb by the way
Mondadori (left) and IBM (right) headquarters in Segrate
Milan northern suburbs
Not sure about this lake
Alps still painted in snow
20 minutes into the flight drink and snack service was delivered
I got a coke zero and the sweet option, a rice based biscuit filled with chocolate
It tasted quite good
It was actually my dinner time, I had brought a chicken and zucchini sandwich from home
Outside it was all cloudy
50 minutes into the flight the cabin was prepared for landing
We passed through the thick layers of clouds
Mainland France shyly appearing below
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport below us
So impressive how huge it's
Terminal 2 complex
And Paul Andreu's masterpiece: Terminal 1
Paris-Le Bourget Airport, located a few miles away from CDG
Musée de l'air et de l'espace, the amusement park for an avgeek
Continuing westward before the 180° turn towards CDG
Banking over Paris suburbs
No words needed, the best welcome to Paris given by her landmark
La Defense, dominated by the Great Arch
Flying over St-Denis area
Stade de France
Le Bourget again
Crossing A1 motorway, connecting Paris to Lille
It's the main gateway to CDG Airport
CDG Cargo Area
Landing on runway 08R
At 20:56, sixteen minutes after scheduled, we touched down at Paris-Charles de Gaulle International Airport
Crossing runway 08L-26R
Air France DreamLiner welcoming us on our way to Terminal 2D
Blocking at the gate 10 minutes after touching down
Terminal 2B line-up: Norwegian 737, Air Serbia A320, Royal Air Maroc 737 and a couple of easyJet planes
Disembarking at Terminal 2D, another one from Paul Andreu
The terminal was a bit "sleepy" at that moment
The baggage claim area was quite busy by the way
Waiting for the luggage I spotted Filippo Ganna, an Italian track and road cyclist, gold medalist in Tokyo 2020
He was about to compete in Paris-Roubaix the following Sunday
He was really kind accepting a selfie, while I gave him "good luck" for the race
I wonder if ITA will ever dedicate him a plane
Bags took almost 10 minutes to emerge from the conveyor
I made out in the arrival area to meet my friend who had landed from FCO a couple of hours before
Being both pretty tired we booked a Uber to our hotel in St-Denis
Getting the RER would have mean two transfers and more than one hour
Such a great plus to have a dedicated area for Uber pick-up
In Italy, this is impossible due to taxis monopoly…
Terminal 1 carrying French colours
The ride to the hotel took 40 minutes, some traffic was around in Paris
Stay tuned for the return+Le Bourget Museum tour
