Kay_nyc

I'm flying to Catania from NYC next week, and I a bit concerned about my connection times. I've 1H15M in MXP to clear EU customs, and get on my flight to Rome. I've 1H25M in Rome to switch flights which seems a bit more realistic. It's a last minute SkyPesos redemption, so it's not like I had a ton of flight options...

Does that sound like a realistic amount of time to transit? Or should I mentally prepare myself for a missed flight?


Fri, 20FEB
ALITALIA 605
NYC-KENNEDY
DEPART 8:35pm
MILAN-MALPENSA
ARRIVE 10:40am **
Sat, 21FEB

ALITALIA 1019
MILAN-MALPENSA
DEPART 11:55am
ROME-FIUMICINO
ARRIVE 1:10pm

ALITALIA 1741
ROME-FIUMICINO
DEPART 2:35pm
CATANIA
ARRIVE 3:55pm

straniero

FCO to CTA you have nothing to worry about. Both flights arrive/depart from T1 concourse B/C and it's just a matter of few meters between one gate and the other. Also you are in transit so no passport control, baggages etc. (done this). Boarding starts around 30 min before departure, so that leaves you with a good hour and you can afford a small flight delay.

I would be indeed more worried about the short connection time in MXP. I've had it happen once but being Italian I can go through immigration pretty fast, so others may have better feedback. One thing I can tell you, all the times I have a short transit there is some FA escorting all late people through a shorter transit queue; to be safe, ask for it during your JFK flight.

Finally traveling in biz helps as you will be the first to disembark. Not sure this is the case for you though.

Kay_nyc

Unfortunately, I'm not flying biz. I'm not Italian, but I do have an EU passport I never use.... I'll take it with me this time around just in case the EU line is quicker. Thanks for the tip about FA escorts. I'll mention it in JFK.

Worst comes to worst, I sit around in the lounge all day. There's another MXP-FCO flight that would get me into Catania late in the evening.

Gargoyle

MXP is easy. The only delay is the line at immigration, and with an EU passport that won't take more than a few minutes. Even without an EU passport it never took me 10 minutes to get through.

Going the other way, leaving Italy, I've made connections as short as 25 minutes at MXP.

Note also there is padding in the flight schedule, so as long as you don't leave JFK more than 30 minutes late you'll still get into MXP on time.

raistlin

AZ 605 indeed usually arrives early, if anything. I think you should be fine unless major things happen.

Pathfinder813

How did the MXP connection work out? I'll be doing the same flights and just wanted to know. I don't have an EU passport but I suppose a US passport is the next best thing.

Kay_nyc

I'm not flying until this weekend... I'll try to log in on Saturday after the flight to update you.

Pathfinder813

Thanks Kay_nyc!

Kay_nyc

I was in luck. My plane landed an hour early. Instead of rushing to my connection, I just went to the Montreale lounge (priority pass), which has a really nice breakfast spread.

Pathfinder813

Good to know! Thanks for the update. For the lounge, did you mean the Monteverdi lounge by Club S.E.A.?

raistlin

That's the one. And the breakfast spread is not bad :-)

Kay_nyc

Yup. Lots of sandwitches, make your own espresso, juice...

Pathfinder813

Sounds great! I also wanted to see the lounge at FCO because I heard there's a simulator there but I think my wife would veto that to get to the hotel.

Oh, BTW, were you in Y? I've been looking around at trip reviews on the A330 and was wondering if they have actual power plugs in Y. I haven't seen anything that says they don't have them but I haven't seen anything that says they do. I know they have USB but I figure if I want to use my laptop, it would be nice. Seatguru said they have EmPower but I can't remember the last time I've seen a plane with EmPower...

raistlin

There is indeed a simulator in the Dolce Vita lounge (T1, outside security).

The Empower thing is obviously a mistake. I am sure there is laptop power in Magnifica and Classica Plus, I'm not sure about Classica.

Sparkamatic

I appreciated your comments on connecting through MXP, but had a couple more questions. Recently, I was able to use points to get a great (cheap) return flight to the US after a trip planned to Italy this fall.

I have a ticket on Delta from MXP-JFK-SAN and will check bags for these flight. The MXP-JFK leg is operated by Alitalia. I will likely purchase a separate ticket on Alitalia Cityliner to get from FCO-MXP and will arrive in MXP two hours prior to my international departure that ends in San Diego.

Since the connection in MXP will be from domestic Alitalia on one ticket to international Alitalia/Delta on a separate ticket, can I check my bags all the way to San Diego while in Rome? Or, will I have to claim them in MXP and re-check the bags in MXP? Finally, will my Alitalia Cityliner arrival from FCO be in the same terminal (an easy connection) as the outbound Alitalia flight from MXP-JFK? I will be using a US passport in case that matters.

The ticket from MXP-SAN was very cheap, while a ticket from FCO to San Diego was crazy expensive so I booked the return from MXP. Now I am just trying to figure out how to get from FCO-MXP easily and a separate Alitalia ticket for $56 seemed like a good idea. Thanks!