Enchainement de vols
- 1
- 2
- 3TP829 - Business - Milan → Lisbon - Airbus A320
- 4
Sheraton Milan Malpensa Airport
With a 5:55 flight, I had little choice but to return my car the night before and stay at the Sheraton on-site at T1. I've stayed here many times and the convenience cannot be beat since it is just a few steps from the rental car center, train station, and check-in halls. But what you gain in convenience you will pay out of pocket with rates usually at an eye-watering 400 EUR/night. In hindsight, I should have just taken the night flight and spent the night at the nicer Meliá in Lisbon for a third of the price.
That said, the Sheraton's rooms have been remodeled and are quite good for an airport hotel.
Airport and Check-In
Waking up at 03:55, I checked out and started the walk to the terminal.
Based on my experience, TP uses check-in area 4 so head off in that direction.
Even at 04:15, the airport is hustling and bustling.
As expected, TP was using the end of aisle 4. There were 3 agents working and no one in line so I was immediately checked through to SFO with instructions on using the LH Lounge.
We will head off to the security check point.
There was no one working to guide passengers, so I helped myself to the fast track lane entrance and was airside in minutes with no wait. MXP has the new machines that do not require anything to be removed so it is a seamless process.
Down we go to the departures level.
At this hour, duty free was closed so everyone was sent off through an alternate route.
The LH Lounge opens at 04:30 and there were already a few people queuing outside.
Lufthansa Lounge
I joined the back of the queue outside of the lounge. At 04:30, the doors opened and we were let in.
The lounge is quite nice for an out-station lounge with modern decor and plenty of seating options.
The buffet had a mix of hot and cold items.
There was a full bar along with barista coffee as one would expect in Italy.
Near the main seating area, there was also a self-service drink area.
I took a seat in the library themed area.
My light breakfast offering. Eggs hadn't been brought out yet so it will just be sausages and sautéed spinach to start.
FIDS this morning. We will not be the first *A departure of the day since there are also early morning LH Group services to MUC, FRA, and ZRH.
After 30 minutes in the lounge, it was time to leave and head to the gate.
Boarding
The A gates are accessed by this very dated connector.
Our plane was visible from the windows enroute. We would get CS-TNL today, a 2000-built A320 named after the Portuguese author Vitorino Nemésio. This 25 year old plane is the 3rd oldest A320 in TP's fleet and has a Y174 configuration.
More closed stores.
The lines had formed at the gate with boarding imminent.
I joined the back of the Premium lane. Boarding started on time with pre-boards followed by business class and *G passengers.
Entering the plane, we were welcomed on board by two male FAs.
Turning right, we are met with the expected TP narrow-body cabin. For a 25 year-old plane, it looks really good.
Seat Features
My seat for the next 3 hours.
TP has extra legroom up front, and the ~33" they offer is very comfortable for Euro business seats.
Below the seats are power points with USB-A and 110V universal outlets.
I like the colors that TP has subtly included in these seats such as the red headrest accents, red stitching, and color accents that really tie in their overall brand image and break up the monotony of grey cabins seen on other airlines.
The PSU confirms the age of the plane, but has been updated showing the effort TP has made to keep their planes modernized despite their financial challenges.
The seat back contains a device holder, literature compartment, and tray table. There is no Wi-Fi on the A320 fleet.
The literature contents are safety card, airsickness bag, and BOB menu.
For reference purposes, here are some highlights from the BOB menu for those interested. Prices look to be very reasonable compared to what I've seen on other carriers in Europe.
Push Back
Boarding wrapped up quickly and the load would be 10/12 in business class. I would get a seat mate today in my row, but I only got up one so it was not a major inconvenience.
The fuel truck wrapped up its work giving us a healthy ~8300L of petrol to return to LIS. Then we sat on the tarmac with the door open for another 10 minutes before the captain came on to introduce the crew and announce we would be waiting another 20 minutes due to ATC and apologized for the inconvenience. TP pilots are very chatty and provide a lot of updates throughout the flight.
As the sun continued to rise, we eventually got clearance to push back at 06:30.
Drama in Milan
As our CFMs started up, a large commotion started in the back of the plane with several FAs running up the aisle. After a quick conversation of the purser with the pilots in Portuguese, the captain came on and announced that due to a medical emergency we would need to park at a remote stand.
We quickly pulled up at a remote stand and turned off the engines as the crew returned to the back of the plane.
Seconds later 1L opened and we had some paramedics come on-board. The Portuguese passengers were able to start translating what was going on and apparently an elderly passenger fainted during the push back falling into the aisle. The crew got her back up and she regained consciousness. The captain eventually shared the same information stating that we would need to wait for a wheelchair transfer of the passenger to the ambulance and then ground crew would need to go into the luggage hold to retrieve her family's bags before we could proceed to Lisbon.
A transport vehicle then arrived at 1R to take the lady and her husband off the plane.
With the situation stable, I could turn my attention to the morning arrivals outside of the window while waiting for the bags to be unloaded.
Plane Spotting
NO B737-MAX8 departing as NO5972 for SSH.
EY B77W arriving as EY81 from AUH.
NO B789 arriving as NO789 from JFK.
HU B789 arriving as HU427 from CKG.
BR B789 arriving as BR95 from TPE.
TG B789 arriving as TG940 from BKK.
UA B772 arriving as UA19 from EWR.
QR A359 arriving as QR123 from DOH.
Taxi and Departure from Milan
After 50 minutes, we finally had the doors closed and the captain came back on to announce that we would be departing for LIS and they would update transfer gate information as we approached LIS since most passengers had tight connections for TATLs (primarily Brazil).
The engines fired up again and we were off.
XZ E175.
Some classic B737s.
As we reach the runway, a CA A359 in *A special livery arrives from PVG.
We finally get our chance to align on runway 35R at 07:32, over 1.5h late.
Goodbye Lombardy.
Somma Lombardo as we start our u-turn to head south.
The lake region.
Crossing from Lombardy to Piedmont over Lago Maggiore.
Crossing through the clouds, the snow-covered Alps appear.
In-flight Service
Service started up as we continued our trek south towards the Ligurian Sea.
No menu cards were handed surprisingly, but the crew started walking out meal trays.
The tray as delivered along with a request for drink choices. A very disappointing cold meal, which is well below my expectation from TP. This had to have been catered from LIS the night before based on how sad it looks and the presence of Portuguese packaged items.
An orange juice and water for hydration.
The main consisting of a cold bite-sized quiche and cold cuts.
Poached pear, one highlight of the meal.
A nut brownie and sad looking bread.
TP's coffee is some of the worst offered, but at least the tableware is nice. On long-haul, TP now offers espresso based drinks so the coffee issue is at least limited to the narrow-body fleet.
The lavatory shows the age of the plane, but it is at least clean despite the brown stains in the sink.
The meal service concluded as we flew over Marseille.
Aerial of MRS.
As we left the French coast, I took a short nap.
I woke up as we reached the Iberian Peninsula near the Gulf of Roses.
The crew offered more drinks seeing me awake and water was delivered along with some chocolates.
Flying over Girona.
Aerial of GRO.
The snow capped Pyrenees in the horizon as we continue our run across Catalunya.
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Clipping the suburbs of Barcelona, Camp Nou is visible just south of the Diagonal.
After another nap, we were soon starting our descent into Lisbon.
Reaching Lisbon on a beautiful spring day.
Reaching the Atlantic, we make our u-turn over the beaches preparing for the day's crowds.
We aligned for arrival crossing over the Ponte 25 de Abril, highlighting the connection of Lisbon to San Francisco.
Santuário de Cristo Rei.
Views over the city as we drop into LIS.
We touched down at 08:56, over an hour late.
Our taxi took us past an AC A333 likely bound for YUL.
DT B77W.
We quickly pull into our gate as the purser comes on to announce that agents will be present on the jet bridge to escort all connecting passengers to their flights with short connection times.
We get a selfie in the reflection of the windows.
We are quickly out onto the jet bridge.
I will head into the direction of the lounges to start my layover in LIS.
I'll leave off this series here, thanks for stopping by!
