Mumbai08 Feb 24 1 Traveller Economy
Showing International Flight from Madrid
About Madrid
Madrid is one of the hottest holiday destinations in Spain and no, and we are not talking about the weather here. It's not as popular as Barcelona, but it is definitely a city that you must visit. Spain is one of the cheapest holiday destinations in Europe compared to other countries and is worth every penny spent. Madrid is an architectural marvel and is also known for its rich culture. You will occasionally run into an old Spanish Grandma or another local who is all excited to help you with directions or hand you a list of the best attractions to visit in the city. There are high chances of you befriending a lot of locals and staying in touch with them later on through social media. Not to mention, the city is musically inclined, and you will find yourself attending quite a few music festivals here. Of course, Madrid is also popular for its food, and you will want to visit the city again just for the gastronomic experience.
Best Time to Visit Madrid
Summer is one of the most popular times for tourists to plan a vacation to Madrid. However, a lot of local shops are shut during this time since the owners also take a vacation. If you don't mind the scorching heat, this is the best time to fly to Madrid. The temperature ranges from 15 to 31 degree Celsius in summer. You might also want to book your hotel in Madrid well in advance if you are planning to visit the city in summer. You can attend quite a few festivals and events during summers like the International Gay Pride, Mad Cool Festival, Feria del Libro and Veranos de la Villa. Tourists also prefer taking a taxi to get around the city instead of walking around to avoid the heat.
September to November is the autumn season in Madrid and quite pleasant, too. The temperature ranges from 6 to 26 degree Celsius, and this is also when most locals return from their vacations. The shops remain open, and you get to enjoy the highlights of the city at its best. You can also attend the Autumn Festival that happens in October and November. December to February are the coldest months in Madrid. The temperature ranges from 2 to 12 degree Celsius, January being the coldest month. This is also the best time to book a hotel in Madrid or get cheap flight tickets to Madrid since it is not a high season.
Spring season is from March to May and is a pleasant time to head to Madrid. It is right before the high season, so the locals are preparing to welcome a lot of tourists. The hotel prices are low this season and flight tickets are also pretty cheap. The temperature ranges from 5 to 21 degree Celsius and a lot of tourist spots are also open. The best part is that you get to hog the city to yourself since it is not very crowded.
Places to Visit in Madrid
Plaza Mayor, originally called Plaza del Arrabal, is a major tourist attraction in Madrid. You will find yourself admiring the architecture of the place and take lots of pictures. Royal Palace of Madrid is yet another tourist spot that has a lot of historical importance. It was built right where the Moorish Castle was destroyed in 1734 after a tragic fire broke out. It is one of the most important tourist spots in the city. You can also visit the National Museum of History, called the Museo Nacional Del Prado. It houses some of the best masterpieces by renowned artists like Van Dyck, Goya, El Greco, Rembrandt and so on. You will find paintings that date back to the 11th and 18th century. The Temple of Debod was a gift to the city by former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Catch the best of artist Francisco Goya's paintings at the Royal Chapel of St Anthony of La Florida. The church also has the remains of the artist who was buried in front of the altar.
Teatro Real, or the Royal Theatre, is considered to be one of the best opera houses in all of Europe. It has a seating capacity of 1745 people, and you can even get a guide to take you through the theatre. You can also visit the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a monument that took approximately 20 years to construct. Watch some of the most beautiful fountains at the Plaza de Cibeles. It is also home to the bank of Spain, Linares Palace and Buenavista Palace. Madrid also has a happening nightlife scene. You can head to Barrio de La Latina for some delectable tapas, go dancing and have some amazing beer. However, if crowded places are a deal-breaker for you, you might want to steer clear of visiting the place on weekends.
Things to do in Madrid
You can go on a guided tour of the city. Reserve a day for museums, another day for art tours and a few days to sit back, relax and party. Madrid's nightlife scene is quite exciting. Make sure you visit museums like Museo del Prado, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Museo Sorolla and Museo Reina Sofia. It would be advisable to hire a guide for your museum tour. You'll get to know a lot more interesting facts about the city. You will find yourself appreciating the architecture, and you will be amazed at everything that you see in the museums. If you want to spend your evening relaxing at El Retiro, one of the most beautiful parks in Madrid. You can either plan a picnic on the grass or go boating around the lake in the park. If you are at Plaza Mayor, make sure you try the squid roll here. You will find a lot of restaurants here that serve delicious squid rolls. It is one of the most popular dishes to try here. You can head to Gran Via for a shopping spree and to La Latina for some tapas. Madrid is also easily accessible to other cities in Spain, and you can also cover other major cities in Spain like Barcelona, Seville, Granada, Ibiza and more. Madrid is a place you can visit with your family or your friends. You can also pack your bags and head for a solo trip to Madrid.
Food and Restaurants in Madrid
Traditional Madrid food consists of meat, bread and cheese. It's best tasted in tapas, samples of small plates of Spanish dishes. They come free with the drinks that you order at the bars. Mercado de San Miguel, a popular market that is located right outside Plaza Mayor, offers tapas along with cocktails, dessert, coffee and produce stalls. You can head over to El Tigre if you want to try some complimentary tapas along with your favourite cocktail. The restaurant serves a large plate of tapas, and even though the place is quite loud, you will enjoy your time here. You can also try paella (which is rice with fish), croquetas (fried breadcrumb rolls dish that is filled with mashed potatoes, meat and cheese), Espanola (potato omelette that you will fall in love with) and gazpacho, which is cold soup. You cannot leave Madrid without trying the famous jamón Iberico, one of the most expensive hams in the world. You will also find a lot of Indian, Asian, Chinese and Latin American cuisine in Madrid. Kathmandu Tandoori House Nepali serves the best Indian and Nepali cuisine. You can head to Antonio of Italia a Tavola for authentic Italian food. If you want to try street food that's also healthy, you can try Azotea Forus Barcelo and to Empanadas Malvon Retiro for Argentinean cuisine. Gramabar is a popular spot for everyone who is in the mood for American, Caribbean and Venezuelan cuisine.
How to reach Madrid (Transportation)
Madrid International Airport is called Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport and is situated in the Barajas district. It is about 12 km away from the city centre. The flight connectivity to Madrid from India is excellent. Turkish Airlines, EgyptAir, Lufthansa, Air France are some of the airlines that fly to Madrid quite frequently with layovers at Istanbul, Cairo, Munich and Paris; these are the most popular routes to Madrid by air. If you book in advance, there are high chances that you get cheap flight tickets to Madrid. You will also come across decent flight deals to Madrid online. Madrid Airport is well-equipped with WiFi, lounges and also has a sleeping room in case you want to reach the airport early and wait for your flight. There are lots of taxi and bus services from the airport to your hotel. If you are on a Europe trip and Madrid is on your itinerary, you can also take the Eurail that connects to France and Italy as well. Though you can reach Madrid by rail and road from any other European country, taking a flight to Madrid is one of the most convenient ways to travel.
About Alitalia
Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana or primarily referred to as Alitalia, is the national flag carrier of Italy. The airline has its headquarters in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. The airline's main hub is Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome, while its secondary hub is located in Linate Airport in Milan. Alitalia's other focus airports in Italy also include Naples Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport, Catania-Fontanarossa Airport and Palermo Airport. The airline was recorded in 2018 as the twelfth-largest in Europe. Alitalia in Italian is a portmanteau of the words 'ali' for wings and 'Italia' for Italy. Alitalia has not been the best of airlines in terms of raking a profit margin. In fact, it has been a loss-making venture for quite a few years now. In 2017, after formal approval by the government, the airline went into administration. However, the operations of Alitalia has been continued with the same loss-making approach and level of flight activity. Eventually, in 2020, the government of Italy opted to take over all the flight operations and management from Alitalia.
The Italian airline came into existence in 2008 with formal operations starting from 200, following a Compagnia Aerea Italiana consortium that took place to buy out the bankrupt Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane. They further planned to merge the airlines with Air One, another bankrupt Italian carrier. Compagnia Aerea Italiana or CAI placed an offer of €1 billion to acquire a few parts of the bankrupt airline. Further, to accommodate the new Alitalia airline, the consortium took up several labour agreements, offered to administer the operations of Alitalia and receive support from the Italian government from bankruptcy. The consortium even took up the responsibility of taking over some of Alitalia's debt. There were a few controversies that did take place which included the wealthy Berlusconi cronies. Claims of the wealthy individuals trying to take over healthy fragments of Alitalia while leaving the debts to the citizens and taxpayers of Italy were stated. Eventually, the new Alitalia was launched for operations. The same year, the Compagnia Aerea Italiana sold about 25 per cent of their shares to Air France - KLM. Additionally, Air France - KLM also mentioned a clause to purchase more shares of Alitalia in 2013, if need be.
In January 2010, the airline celebrated its first anniversary since the official relaunch. The airline carried about 22 million passengers in the first year of operations. The following year, the airline also carried about 25 million passengers. Since its relaunch though, Alitalia faced its first protest as employees called for a four-hour strike over wage issues. The same year, the word about a possible merger between Alitalia and Meridiana Fly, an Italian carrier. However, the merger did not take place. Trouble didn't seem to end for Alitalia as there were authority issues and lack of slots to cater to domestic routes. In 2014, Etihad Airways, the national flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, announced that they would be investing in Alitalia and purchasing about 49 per cent of stake. In the same year, Alitalia's subsidiary Air One cased operations over losses. In 2015, the airline's consortium with Compagnia Aerea Italiana was eventually passed on to Alitalia-SAI, a new entity commenced by Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways. Alitalia's Compagnia Aerea Italiana continued to own 51 per cent of stakes.
Alitalia has been under losses ever since it resumed operations with new leadership. There have been several changes in its ownership styles and status. Currently, Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane is one of the shareholders with about 35 per cent stakes. Along with the Italian state railway company, the airline also has the Italian Ministry of Economy and Delta Air Lines as shareholders with 15 per cent and 10 per cent stakes respectively.
Fleet size of Alitalia
Alitalia's current fleet size comprises 91 aircraft which only include Airbus and Boeing. The fleet has about 38 Airbus A320-200s, 22 Airbus A319-100s, 14 Airbus A330-200s, Airbus 321-100s, 11 Boeing 777-200ERs and one Boeing 777-300ER. From 2009 and 2011, the airline refurbished its fleet by adding 34 new aircraft while 26 of the older ones retired. The renewal process concluded in 2013. The new aircraft that have been added to the fleet are not owned by Alitalia but have been leased from Aircraft Purchase Fleet. It is an Irish leasing company that was founded by former Air One owner, Carlo Toto. The company primarily offered flights on lease to purchase the new Alitalia fleet. With the Air One and Alitalia merger, the entire fleet that was leased and the one air One did not lease, was brought under the ownership of Aircraft Purchase Fleet. Except for the two new A330s, the entire fleet is under the Irish registry instead of the Italian registry. Prior to the new fleet, the previous fleet of Alitalia included McDonnell Douglas DC-9s, DC-10s, ATR 42 and ATR 72, to name a few.
Baggage Allowance
Baggage allowance on Alitalia is the standard protocol that a majority of international airlines have set. The checked baggage weight cannot weigh more than 23 kg for economy and premium economy class cabin. Meanwhile, the business class cabin has weight allocations of 32 kg. In case passengers have excess baggage weight, the airline has enabled the purchase of weight. While economy class passengers can carry about one checked baggage, premium economy class and business class baggage allowance has two pieces of bags. The maximum size of the baggage should not exceed 158 cm for checked baggage. Passengers must adhere to the checked baggage dimension rule. In case of excess baggage, the airline has listed out the tariffs that the passenger might have to pay. The prices also vary depending on the destination of the flight.
As for hand luggage, Alitalia's baggage allowance enables passengers to carry not more than 8 kg weighing luggage onboard. The dimension of the hand baggage should not exceed 55 cm x 235 cm x 25 cm. The size and weight of the baggage should be the same as mentioned by the airline. Failing to adhere to the rules of weight and size could lead to the airline rejecting the accommodation of the baggage onboard. The passenger might have to send away the hand baggage as checked baggage instead.
In-flight services
Alitalia provides passengers with world-class in-flight services ranging from special exquisite meals to onboard boutique. The seating configuration, as well as the seat types, are made to cater to the comfort of the passenger. The aircraft in Alitalia's fleet offers great legroom and leg rest facilities as part of its services. There are several other in-flight services of Alitalia that add to its experience. The airline offers in-flight WiFi connectivity for passengers. Depending on the ticket type, passengers can avail the WiFi network services. Meanwhile, the airline also provides personal entertainment decks with engaging and latest content such as movies, TV shows, music, video games and more. The business class facilities on Alitalia airline also provide the passenger with their Ulisse magazine as part of the in-flight entertainment services. Alitalia's onboard boutique offers products from GRIFFAIR that can be purchased. Passengers will receive some discounted rates too.
Popular routes and top cities for Alitalia
As of 2020, Alitalia is known to serve about 97 destinations and operates from the hub Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome as well as four other airports in focus cities of Italy. The airline has been part of the SkyTeam alliance and joined in 2009. There have been codeshare agreements that the airline has with other SkyTeam members to enable passengers to fly to numerous other destinations. Alitalia also joined the bandwagon of the transatlantic joint venture, KLM< Air France and Delta Air Lines enabling profits from the Atlantic flights to be shared between the four dedicated airlines. Alitalia's domestic route connections are extensive as they have flights to destinations such as Bologna, Bolzano, Brindisi, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Palermo, Parma, Pisa, Venice, Turin, Pescara, Olbia and more. The international route network of Alitalia is just as celebrated as it caters to a slew of destinations. As of 2020, Alitalia airlines cater to cities such as Brussels, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Havana, Prague, Cairo, Luxor, Marseille, Paris, Nice, Toulouse, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Athens, Budapest, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Beirut, Luxembourg City, Malta, Casablanca, Saint Petersburg, Madrid, Valencia, Zurich, Geneva, Tunis, London, New York City, Chicago and Washington DC.
Why travel by Alitalia?
Despite being a loss-making venture, Alitalia domestic route connectivity and international route connectivity is recognised worldwide. The airline has cultivated a reputation for itself thanks to being associated with SkyTeam airline alliance. Over the years, the airline has enabled several upgrades even though it has suffered debts and losses. The airline has made its official website as a hub for all kinds of booking activities. Travellers can book an Alitalia flight on their website as well as on any travel portal. Simultaneously, passengers can also do web check-in ahead of their flight, receive an update on the flight status and benefit from the list of Alitalia's flight schedules that have been shared on their website.
