WorldClock

In October, I need to get from Turin (near Porta Susa) to MXP for a flight to LGW. I found mention of 2 bus services, Flibco and Autostradale/ Arriva, but they both have awful reviews with stories of buses leaving 1 hour late, getting turned away despite advance purchase tickets, etc. I don't have a big time margin. Would I be better off taking a train to Milan and getting to MXP from there? Any thoughts or advice much appreciated.

Edited to also ask: Do I really need to be at MXP 3 hours ahead for a Wednesday late afternoon/early evening flight in late October?

BobFF68

By train you always need to connect in Milano Centrale, no direct trains to MXP from Torino, you can board in Porta Susa station and take a Frecciarossa (or Italo) to Milano Centrale and change to MXP train, it takes around 2 hours and 10 minutes in total, also Regionale Veloce trains (fast regional) are available between Torino and Milano and will take 30 minutes more than Frecciarossa, basically every hour there is a train option available. Never tried the bus service.

bhomburg

Take the train(s). Much more reliable, more comfortable, quicker.
The bus company reviews notwithstanding, traffic around Milan can be choking, leading to huge delays. If you have a flight to catch and no big time buffer, trains are definitely recommended.
And if you buy Fast Track (in advance) you can get by with one hour prior to departure. No huge lines at security there: https://www.milanomalpensa-airport.c...ces/fast-track
If you have bags to check or need to check in at a counter, check your airline's cut-off time, which is less than the three-hour recommended time.

13901

As a local, I disagree.
The bus from Turin is a better option as it's direct and, crucially, avoids Milan.The route runs along the A4 motorway, which though usually busy is also very fast-flowing, and then leaves for the SS336 state road at Marcallo-Masero, which is before Milan. In fact, the A4 grows from 3 to 4 lanes in both directions after Marcallo.

If the OP were going to, say, BGY or LIN, where he'd need to go through Milan's ring roads, then I'd have suggested the train.

I've taken the bus a few times when I was living in Turin. Personally, it's never been a big problem. And I'd go to MXP perhaps 2hrs before, definitely not 3. Security can be slow, but these days the longest/most annoying wait in MXP is passport control for those flights going outside of the Schengen area. For some reason the airport authorities got e-Gates there, and they got some SITA product that takes ages to scan a passport (assuming travellers know how to use them, which seems very hard). Considering that non EU passengers still need to be stamped out by a human, it's incredibly futile.

Concerto

My tip would be to get yourself to Busto Arsizio. From there, there are regular nonstop trains to Malpensa. I just looked now (example below) and the suggested routing avoids going into Milan (changing in Rho-Fiera), takes 1h55 and costs �13.15. From Busto Arsizio there are regular trains and a ticket (must be bought separately) costs �4 last time I looked. I find those regional trains surprisingly dependable.




The two screenshots above are taken from the Trenitalia website. You can easily set it to the English language version.

Concerto

Looking at it, the TRENORD (a different rail company) trains are once an hour to MXP, far less often than I expected. However, it is �4 and is a one class (1st class fare). Following through the example above, I would aim for the train (S50) at 13h25, which gives you a bit of margin if the previous one runs late. And you'll have time to buy that �4 from the machine on the platform (remember to validate the tickets by stamping them at the boxes before you get on the train).

BobFF68

From Centrale to MXP there are 2 trains each hour and 2 from Milano Cadorna (the two lines join in Saronno before Busto Arsizio), your itinerary is for sure feasible but involves two changes, at this point for someone a direct bus ride could be more attractive especially when traveling with luggage.

JMN57

Exactly - it slows things down for little apparent reason. I'm sure the e-scan is hitting a bunch of databases to figure out if you're a suspicious character and the human is notified before stamping the passport but you'd think that they could make it work a little better. The inbound scanners are worse as a whole plane hits at once (rather than straggle in). Last month in Linate, the scanners were broken/balky and it took forever to process an A320.

13901

I'm sorry but... why?

One bus - which takes about 1h30 - vs 3 trains.

GUWonder

If missing the direct flibco bus between MXP and Turin, isn�t the wait for the next bus typically over an hour? I recall there being rather long times between the scheduled flibco buses even during its hours of operation and am currently juggling the idea between flying non-stop to MXP and using public transit to getting to Turin or flying non-stop into NCE and driving. [For going between NCE and Turin there is also some bus option, but not going to count on that bus service.]

WorldClock

Thank you all for your replies!
-13901: Glad to hear you have had fine experiences with the bus. It's always hard to gauge reviews.

-BobFF68 and Concerto: It's good to know that there are so many train options. I always like to have a plan B, especially on the way to the airport.

-bhomburg and JMN57: Thanks for the heads up on security/passport control at MXP. I have a USA passport (so not eligible for Fast Track), am flying into the UK (non-Schengen), and might have to check a bag, so it sounds like I should get there as early as possible.

-GUWonder: Autostradale/Arriva timetable shows departures every hour from Turin (https://www.airportbusexpress.it/Ima...AAeroporti.pdf), but I got concerned when I read reviews about buses leaving very late and turning away passengers who had bought advanced tickets.

Thanks again, and happy travels to all!

JMN57

I don't know where you got that idea - you are absolutely eligible for Fast Track - I, too, have a USA passport and use Fast Track all the time. And, while the e-gates at immigration control are balky, getting through security and immigration at Malpensa is generally pretty easy.

WorldClock

Thanks for the correction, JMN57! I guess I just assumed that Fast Track was similar to TSA Pre, I'm glad to learn otherwise. I will definitely try it out. Thanks also about the reassurance about security and immigration at MXP; that relieves a lot of stress since my time margin to get to the airport is shorter than I generally like.

13901

You'd wait one hour too for a train to Milan, for that matter.

In my opinion, the bus isn't a problem. I've used Autostradale a few times, taking it from the first stop by the tribunal ("Palazzo di Giustizia"), and was always OK. I'm a bit puzzled as to why you wouldn't consider, as a third option, driving from MXP. The drive from MXP to Turin is simple, easy and, depending on your attitude to speed limits (no cameras on the A4 motorway) can be done in about one hour. I'd surely prefer that option to bussing or driving from NCE, if nothing else to avoid the Genoa node or the Torino-Savona motorway, my least favourite in Italy (nah, i lie, the Torino-Aosta is worse).

Another option is Flixbus. There's a few daily departures too, and based on what I heard quality isn't that bad. As always, if you're concerned about timings, give yourself ample padding and you'll be alright.

WorldClock

Thanks for mentioning Flixbus, 13901. That company didn't come up in my searches; I'll check them out. Regarding timing, I usually give myself ample timing. It just happens that for this trip there are constraints forcing a tighter time window. But with the information you all have shared here, I'm feeling less stressed. Thank you!