BCN-MXP-BCN with Lufthansa Italia

Welcome to this trip report,

My Girlfriend and I decided to go to Lago di Como in Italy to celebrate our 1st anniversary, and of course it also gave me the chance to try out LH Italia.

We booked the tickets sometime in February for 99Euros each and finally the day arrived.

Thursday April 30th 2009.
LH1797 Barcelona El Prat (BCN) to Milano Malpensa (MXP)
Departure Time 19:50 (Actual 19:50)
Takeoff Runway 25R
Arrival Time 21:20 (Actual 21:25)
Landing Runway 35L
Airbus A319-100 (D-AKNG) "Varese"
Seats 6A and 6B

Check-in.

I checked us online using the very easy Lufthansa website and randomly selected seats 6A and 6B, I did not print the boarding passes as I wanted to do it at the Quick Check-In Kiosk at the airport so I could have proper boarding passes.

Anyway we got to the airport at 6pm via the Train service from Sants Station, and quickly walked over to the Self-service check in kiosk, with boarding passes in hand then it was just a quick shunt to the baggage drop off line and we were set to go, Security was relatively quick as its always the case in Spain (very relaxed) and soon we were airside, checked the status of our flight on the FIDS and had a little bite to eat at one of the cafes which have good views over the ramp and watched our plane arrive from MXP.

Lufthansa Check-in Area at BCN.


British Chap going back home.


Our plane arriving from MXP


Boarding.

Boarding was announced at 19:20 at gate B44 but then it was changed to B40, a little queue had formed but everything was very orderly, we made our way down the jetway and at the door we were welcomed by the crew, got to our seats and sat and waited for boarding to be completed.

Cabin.

The cabin was very clean and spotless and it looked very modern with the slim-line seats, also the leather headrest cover with the Italian flag on it is a cooll touch! row 6 had very very good legroom (it had a handicapped sign over the window maybe that's why)



The Captain welcomed us onboard in Italian and Spanish but in a heavy German accent meanwhile the crew handed out refreshing towels, the load today was approx 80%

Flight.

We pushed back smack right on time and with the engines running we started the long trek to Rwy 25R while the crew performed their safety demo manually.

After what seemed like days we arrived at the threshold of 25R but we were number 3 in queue after a JK MD87 and a Air Nostrum Dash-8, behind us there was a LX A321.

We lined up on the runway and the captian then ordered full steam ahead and we rocketed off into the air after a rather short take off run.

Our route today was BCN, then across the Med to France, over Marseille, Nice, and then into Italy, flying time 1:20.

Service.

Once at a safe altitude the cabin crew was released and commenced their service which consisted of a little box with a sandwich and a chocolate bar, and a drink of your choice plus tea or coffee, the sandwich was rather nice and so was the chocolate, I washed it down with a Coke and then a nice Coffee.

Meal.



The rest of the flight was uneventful as the sun set along the Mediterranean French coast.

Views inflight.





The crew then passed around to collect the rubbish, no duty free was offered on this flight.

Passenger entertainment consisted of the usual LH Magazine in German and English and a little magazine in Italian and English with news about LHitalia.

Arrival.

We touched down firmly on MXP rwy 35L and with heavy breaking our trusty A319 turned off the runway and taxied steadily to our parking position, with engines off the usual rush to get out of the plane began, I collected a postcard on my way out and thanked the crew for the nice short flight, collected our bag and took the Malpensa Shuttle to Milano Centrale Station where we would spend the night and move to Lago di Como the next morning.

Sunday May 3rd 2009
LH1796 Milano Malpensa (MXP) to Barcelona El Prat (BCN)
Departure Time 17:35 (Actual 17:45)
Takeoff Runway 35R
Arrival Time 19:10 (Actual 19:10)
Landing Runway 25L
Airbus A319-100 (D-AKNH) "Bologna"
Seats 20E and 20F

After 4 days in beautiful Lago di Como and Lugano it was sadly time to go back home.

We took the Malpensa Shuttle Bus to Malpensa and we were dropped off at the terminal after a quick 45 mins ride from Central Milan.

Again I went straight to the Self-Service Kiosk and with boarding passes at hand, dropped our bag at the Drop-off counter.

We then proceeded to clear security which in this case had a HUGHE line, still it only took about 5-10 minutes to pass throught with no problems, then it was off to the duty free shop to buy some Baci Chocolates (hmm) and a bottle of Limoncello.

Our gate today was A5 and when we got there I was disappointed to see D-AKNG on the gate, the same aircraft that brought us here, luckily a last minute gate change had D-AKNG now going to BUD and our new gate was A34 (bus)

Our gate.



When we got there we sat and waited, boarding time came by and went and still no sign of our bus, finally one showed up and once full it took us (Italian Style) over to the Non-Schengen pier where our new plane was waiting D-AKNH.

Views on the ramp




Since the plane was parked next to a jetway but this was not attached to the plane we boarded via stairs, the rear door was closed when we got out of the bus so we took the front door only to find out that they had opened the rear door, which made boarding slightly more chaotic since I had to literally jump like a salmon over the people who were boarding thru the rear.

Anyways once we managed to get to our seats we waited until boarding was completed, now this is when this flight got a bit annoying, there was a group or family of Catalonians travelling today, and they were by far the most obnoxious, loud, and nasty group of passengers I had ever had the misfortune to fly, they were shouting to each other across the aircraft, fighting for the seats, and even as we were being pushed back some of the members had not sit down which had the crew running to the back of the plane to get it sorted, and even after that they were talking so loudly I could barely hear the safety demo or the announcements.

The Load today was almost full capacity, there were only a few seats empty.

Still... we were pushed back and started taxiing towards Rwy 35R, the captain lined up the aircraft and in no time applied full thrust and we rocketed down the runway, on rotation the aforementioned unruly bunch started shouting "Arrivederci Italia" sigh...

Our route today was, out of Malpensa, and across to france, over Nice, Marseille, and the coast of spain over Girona and down to Barcelona.

Cabin view



Once at cruise altitude, the crew offered the usual snack box, this time it consisted of a cup with Pasta al pesto, an apricot tart and salty crackers, I washed it down with a glass of coke.



Crew came around again to collect the rubbish and that was really it, again no duty free was offered.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and descent started as we flew near Girona, we touched down softly on RWY25L and slowed down, the unruly bunch was not over with their show and started clapping, whistling and chanting.

Welcome to Barcelona.



We docked at the same gate from were we left last Friday and with the engines off it was time to collect our stuff, grab our stuff and head home.

All in all, a couple of enjoyable flights on LH Italia, their service is OK and resembles that of LH and LX, their fares are great as well and I would definitely fly them again.

That's it, I hope you enjoyed reading it and leave a comment if you wish.

MIAspotter.