MANCHESTER AIRPORT passengers will have a choice of operators to Milan Malpensa from June onwards when Alitalia joins British Airways on the route operating an Airbus A319 as against the slightly slower Avro RJ which takes 2 hours 35 minutes against 2 hours 15 minutes.
Malpensa is about 30 miles northwest of Milan. Milan”s other airport Linate is just five miles from the city centre but is only served from Heathrow. Also at Manchester Lufthansa is bringing its first Frankfurt departure forward to 0625, which will get passengers into Frankfurt at 0905 and with the railway station located directly beneath the airport, Frankfurt city centre can easily be reached in only 10 minutes. Day trip travellers then have a choice of return services at 1640 and 2200, giving over 12 hours in the city to carry out business or take in the sights with the later flight arriving back in Manchester at 2250.
http://www.alitalia.com