Skies open for London Heathrow-Milan Malpensa
From next month, passengers will see some welcome competition in the shape of Lufthansa Italia. The German airline has formed a separate brand that is being used to develop several business routes out of northern Italy.
It means that passengers departing from London Heathrow, where services are restricted to either British Airways or Alitalia, have something novel to look forward to. Lufthansa is a Star Alliance member (the others are linked to Oneworld and Skyteam respectively) so members of its frequent flyer programmes (FFPs) will be able to earn points, redeem miles, and so on.
What’s on offer?
Lufthansa will be operating 138-seat two-class A319s. There will be Italian flight attendants who, claims the Lufthansa publicity blurb, “will be serving Italian delicacies adding a note of originality to the in-flight menu”.
The airline wants to improve Malpensa’s ground facilities for its passengers by spring time. These will include an enhanced lounge and fast-track security clearance. Flights start on March 29 and are ideally timed for business people in the UK and Italy. There will be four services a day during the week, with a reduced service at weekends.
Weekday timings for departures from Heathrow are at 0650 (arriving in Malpensa at 0950), 0850 (1155), 1435 (1735) and 1950 (2250). Return flights depart at 0700 (arriving in Heathrow at 0805), 1240 (1345), 1810 (1915) and 2135 (2235).
Is Malpensa convenient?
That depends on whether you’re heading for the centre of Milan or destined for elsewhere in the region. Certainly, travellers bound for Milan might not automatically opt for Malpensa as it’s 46km from downtown, whereas Linate, the city’s other business airport, is only 10km away.
But Malpensa is a main international gateway – handy if you’re transferring planes. And Marianne Sammann, general manager for Lufthansa UK and Ireland, maintains that it’s the closest airport with access to corporate locations in northern Italy. One good example is Turin, Italy’s motor town, which has few international links but is not too far from Malpensa.
Sammann adds that 40 per cent of Lufthansa’s UK passengers bound for Italy (via either Frankfurt or Munich) opt for Malpensa.
This airport is also handy for Swiss Ticino, just across the border. Fussy Swiss travellers drive across the border to patronise Malpensa because their local airport, Lugano, has limited air service.
Malpensa is beside the Varese-Milan motorway so it doesn’t take too long to reach downtown Milan. There’s also an express train service, with a journey time of 40 minutes, to the city’s Cadorna station.
Fares
According to lufthansa.com, return fares in economy class start from £123. Business class costs £620. There may be introductory offers, so check nearer the time. And there will no doubt be FFP promotions such as bonus miles.
The competition
This is fierce. For starters, Lufthansa Italia will be up against Alitalia, British Airways and Easyjet. The first two depart from Heathrow for either Malpensa or Linate. Easyjet departs from Gatwick for the same two Milanese airports.
Then there’s the private Italian carrier, Air One. By flying between London City and Linate, it offers true city-centre to city-centre travel. Air One’s drawback for the London-based passenger is that its timings are geared more to the needs of business people starting their journeys in Italy rather than the UK.
