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Fictional yet real, Crippled but still going ... Alitalia's most 'recent' big lady


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Hi guys ... Long since I posted here, being busy with school and stuff really takes lots of my life's time ...

Anyways, recently I've heard Alitalia has obtained its biggest airliner yet since relaunch :

 

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Yep, the Boeing 777-300ER !

The proof being here : https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/53029-alitalia-confirms-maiden-b777-300er-due-in-mid-3q17

(The paint itself is my rendition of the aircraft, for FSX/FS2004's SMS Overland 777-300ER)

 

You may not believe this, but it's true that Alitalia has obtained this big lady bearing EI-WLA as her registration, and yet ... The real-life Alitalia has now proceeded on to bankruptcy and is on the brink of ceasing operations (again) after just 8 years of operations after rebranding from the old Alitalia (which, against all odds, could survive for 63 years (1946 - 2009) even if the airline was profitable ONLY in 1998). With the bankruptcy (and possibility that AZ may actually depart the world of aviation for good), honestly even though Alitalia has received the big lady IRL, I kinda doubt if EI-WLA will ever fly for AZ in the real world ... Which sends us to another question ; what's actually wrong with the airline, itself Italy's flag carrier ?

 

Honestly, I don't know, except for the fact that the airline's employees have lost their loyalty by demanding no workforce or salary cuts (which unquestionably cripples the airline's ailing economics) and even (somehow) preferring the airline's disappearance than the cuts. I've heard a lot of passenger reviews that the airline's employees are extremely rude and unhelpful these days, which means just that.

 

And yet, against all odds again, Alitalia still leases this big lady (EI-WLA herself is actually owned by AerCap in the real world, formerly operated by Air Austral of Réunion as F-ONOU, and is currently stored at LDE / LFBT in her Alitalia colors). Oh, and while she may be the newest addition to AZ's fleet (if she actually flies for AZ, that is), she's been around for 8.3 years (manufactured in 2009)

 

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Well, anyways everything's possible when we fly in FSX (or pretty much any MS Flight Simulator for that matter) ... And so, here's my rendition of EI-WLA, debuting her 'service' with AZ for a very short hop from FCO / LIRF (AZ's main hub) to NAP / LIRN (and yes, I used FSX's Rome - Naples mission so maybe you should expect some quotes) ... At least she can fly with Alitalia in our flight simulators, correct ? so here my repaint goes !

 

Hopefully, Alitalia can somehow manage to pull through despite its ailing conditions (and get much more helpful and loyal staffs whilst repairing its ailments when it comes to customer service, amenities, and baggage handling) ... Because the airline actually has a great potential to bridge Italy's connection to the world.

 

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Oh well, without further ado, let's just roll onto the runway ... Don't want the passengers to complain further. Hope the flight attendants can give much better services than what I've read on the net.

 

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Lining up FCO's runway 16R/34L ; yeah ... This FCO - NAP flight is definitely easy even for a cessna 208, let alone a 777 ; the real world Alitalia itself flies an A320 for this route as AZ1263 / AZ1269 / AZ1271, with flight duration varying from 27 to 56 minutes.

 

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Lifting off halfway down the runway ... Since the load's pretty light for a 777-300ER (about 165 tonnes total, including fuel)

 

More in the replies !

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Left hand turn to align with the flightplan ; at least LNAV makes it easy ... And we can more carefully address passengers this way (cabin crews, I'm warning you) ; AZ's reputation has already been trashed and I don't want it to go further (with this debut flight, at least)

 

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View of LIRF shortly after departure. At least (it feels), the passengers remain calm with no distresses.

 

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Flying around LIRF @ around 5500 feet ; well, at least no arrivals or departures would be disturbed whatsoever

 

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Soon enough, we took another turn to the south, following my custom flightplan of the mission. This way, it's possible for us to ovefly Rome's city center @ 6000 feet ; quite a beautiful city from above :) ... Despite Alitalia's alleged unprofessionality :(

 

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Anybody knows what stadium is that ?

 

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Shortly after leaving Rome's city center behind, we arrived at PRA (Pratica Di Mare) NDB, where Rome ACC told us to climb to FL110. Well, (kinda opposed of my copilot's instruction who wanted to go VFR even in a jet, but he doesn't care apparently) I just tune the AP's LNAV to do the job of following the flightplan, and the AP's altitude and V/S knobs to send us climbing (I also increase thrust to compensate for the loss of speed as we climb, naturally)). It feels like ... Flying a 777 isn't as hard as repairing the mess in Alitalia ...

 

Really, as much as I hope for the airline's survival and changes for the better (somehow), I feel sorry for Italian people ; this airline could've been one of their national prides, yet it often provides terrible baggage handling, in-flight services & assistance and customer services (in the real world at least ; had I flown Alitalia's airliners with FSPassengers or FSCaptain in my FSX, I wouldn't try to emulate what the real AZ does when it comes to these things) ... Causing many people to feel that Italians aren't sincere or friendly, a real shame to be honest ... Since it's not true (I've met numerous Italians throughout my real-world life and most of them are easygoing and cheerful I'd say), yet perceived true by many people due to Alitalia's terrible services ; Alitalia is the flag carrier of Italy and is supposed to provide the best first impressions of Italians to the world, and yet the reverse is what is happening.

 

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EI-WLA's underside

 

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Thinking about it ... Let's just go faster. With the hope to keep passengers calm by arriving as quickly as possible, we speeded up to 335 knots (just 5 knots short of what my copilot told me as maximum speed)

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Another 38ish nautical mile trip, and we leave FRS (Frosinone) VOR and turn to TER (Teano) VOR ; the last point of our flight in the cruise phase. About 36 nautical miles before we get to Naples Approach control area. (FYI, TER VOR is now TEA VOR in the real world)

 

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2.4 nautical miles before TER VOR, we're handed over to our destination's approach control (but just ... Damnit, why can't I edit the words and sounds ? This is Alitalia, not Orbit Airlines ! EditVoicePack itself is no luck either ...)

 

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As my copilot contacted Naples approach while turning to AGOTI intersection ... Something shocking got caught in my ears ; VISUAL APPROACH. What ?!

Look, we're flying a Boeing 777 to an airport that actually has ILS ... And yet we approach visually ?

And then the copilot said that 'being assigned visual approach makes things easier'. I honestly couldn't believe it, like 'Seriously dude ... If you wanna make things easy for us while flying a jet like this, of course we need to use ILS whenever available !'

 

I know, we still need to approach visually if the airport has no ILS (like St. Maarten (TNCM) or Toncotin (MHTG), for instance), but if the airport has working ILS why in the earth's name do we need to approach visually ?

 

And so ... I disregarded my copilot's instruction and prepared the ILS configuration for Naples's runway 24 (NAV 1 activated, with frequency @ 109.500, course @ 236).

 

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ILS configuration all prepared, now we better start slowing down in preparation for our descent.

 

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Preparing for the turn to Naples's runway 24 ... Or is it ?

 

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Well ... Seeing my speed not decreasing ... I decided to go for a 'stroll' around the mountains that surround Napoli's northeastern part.

 

Oh, and for my copilot ... You seriously don't need to worry about us getting lost. I mean, we're doing this to reduce speed for our finals ; and for that I have to go and make a loop in the air first. We'll return to the course once we can keep the speed for finals (at around 138 - 140 knots). You don't want to go around just because we're coming in too fast, right ? FYI, Napoli's runway isn't as long as you may think (though it still can accomodate a heavy like this 777)

 

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Quite scenic for your approach ? I hope so

 

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Finally, with speed and altitude brought under control, we can return to the approach course ! Just in case though ... Let's drop the gears (I don't want a belly landing just because I'm too focused in controlling the jet's altitude and rate of descent ! (Heading control has been taken over by the autopilot's LOCALIZER switch, and I know that the business is being handled by the right 'hands'))

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Finally out of the mountains ... We can now descend to our destination ! Keep your seatbelts fastened everyone !

 

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Napoli city just ahead, alongside our destination !

 

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Flanking the mountains as we descend ....

 

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Don't forget to get your flaps all out, kids !

 

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Entering Napoli City !

 

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How's the view from the passengers' cabin ?

 

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Seconds from touchdown ...

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Overflying Naples airport's runway 24 :pilot:

Well ... When I see the length of runway available ... It's not gonna work well against my odds (the distance available being 'only' 2416 meters, and considering I'm still aloft and the 777-300ER is a long aircraft ... By the time I touch down, maybe I'll only have 2000 meters or even shorter by the time my jet's wheels kiss the ground (reminds you of Air Austral jets at Dzaoudzi, now isn't it ?) ... Fortunately I've set autobrake MAX beforehand :)

 

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This is it everyone ... An elegant touchdown !

At first, Since I have a feeling that since I've 'wasted' a considerable chunk of runway, there's a possibility that we will overrun ... Fortunately it's sunny and the brakes work wonders ! We could close the reversers by the time we cross the outer guidemarks of runway 06 and go over the 06's threshold at a nice & slow taxiing speed !

 

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Already at taxiing speed, woo ! I kinda hear cheers from the passenger cabin as well ... Good thing that the passengers had been happy (even though you know how the real world Alitalia behaves recently) :)

 

The final screenshots + the livery, coming up tomorrow :D

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Alitalia has always been a victim of the country's politics. I was born and raised there for the first 6 years of my life, and spent summers there until I was about 15. My parents always said "whenever you fly to Italy always try to avoid Alitalia because you never know when they will be on strike".

One time I clearly remember is my parents and I going to New York from Milano, around 1975, they had no choice but to book Alitalia. 10 minutes after checking in Alitalia went on strike. My dad was so pissed back then that he grabbed one of those big shiny metal ashtrays and hurled it across the hall. Got to spend a nice couple of days at Lake Como though.

Anyway, nice post.

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And nope, I'm still not done !

 

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Coming out of the runway via Taxiway Bravo ! Fortunately (as my airplane's cabin crew started explaining us 'welcome to Naples...', I feel like this is quite professional of them (which, again, not truly reflected on many real-world Alitalia passsenger experiences). Oh yeah, we better make sure we're fully clear of the runway ; we don't wanna disrupt other flights now do we ?

 

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Out into the ramp, waiting for our marshaller to direct us to SPOT #44 (and yes, I have fsdreamteam's GSX. A nice addon if you fly airliners like I am but the effect on performance is pretty considerable at detailed airports, though I still can fly without much stutters or something)

 

Well ... Indeed I was required to park at that gate (gate A3) ; it was there on the default LIRN, but since I've replaced the scenery with an updated version ... Yeah, basically I have to ram into the terminal in order to complete my mission here. I don't want to do so (but at least I've earned the 'captain badge' reward from this mission beforehand) so ... I don't mind being sent to a gate actually better suited for this mini jumbo :) (BTW there's barely any AI here ... The others must still be flying out and about)

 

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Well, now do you see what I mean by 'ramming into the building in order to complete the mission' ? I hope so.

 

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A mooney bravo basking in the sun, as I wait for our marshaller to come 'round and direct us. Sure enough, just a moment's notice and he comes shortly afterwards

 

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Here's the marshaller, now 'playing chase 'n tag' with us (or more precisely ... guiding us to spot #44)

 

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Passing Naples's main terminal (and that crazy signal, as if telling 'it's safe for me to go and park there' ... Which obviously isn't)

 

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Whoa ... Holy c**p !

Apparently the ground handling vehicles have taken too much space ! I immediately maneuvered right (followed by a 'full swing' to the left), thereby avoiding us from hitting the vehicles (can be counted as a crash in FSX's missions, or if you enable 'detect crashes and damage' in the settings, which ... I can't do since some addon airports that I use apparently have facilities such as jetways jutting out so much (and static, obviously) that it hits my aircraft as I park. I tried parking that way with the setting enabled, and it counted as BUILDING CRASH. This happens particularly at WBKK (Kota Kinabalu) and WBGR (Kuching) airports in Malaysia, which I often fly in and out since those 2 airports have facilities for wide-bodies and yet have almost no regular medium long / long haul services (except MH120/121, between Kota Kinabalu and Perth. Even then, the aircrqaft flying is the narrow-body Boeing 737-800)).

 

Oh well, enough blaberring ... Now, prepare for a tough turn guys. Then again, you can see our parking spot right there. You know what I mean.

 

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Greetings, controllers !

 

(And good thing that our flight's stewardess(es) have managed to be well mannered throughout the flight (see the attached thumbnail BTW))

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And yeah, terrible check in (like online boarding pass being rejected), lost / broken luggages (LOTS of them), almost no legroom at all in economy (some being blocked or something by electronics), bad in-flight meal, unfriendly staff & stewardess (many of them) and outdated iFE ... Just, Alitalia needs to start fixing those stuffs if they want to survive this receivership.

 

Just seriously ... There's an Indonesian airline that I often fly with (during my holidays to Indonesia), that is banned from flying to the EU (even though it's pretty safe with no fatal accidents so far) ... And yet their services are WAY BETTER (friendly ground staff and stewardess, decent legroom though without iFE (still fine for a short flight), never losing my luggages, few delays, and actually working online check-in and customer service systems) than Alitalia, obviously an EU airline ... But without EU's standard of airline service unfortunately :(

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Turning ... Very tightly towards our parking spot (BTW ... Hey look, it's GSX's marshaller ! Hi !)

 

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Naples's control tower & Atitech's HQ building ... Makes for a nice background :) (BTW Atitech is (or was ?) Alitalia's Naples aircraft maintenance division)

 

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Hello everyone :) (quite sad that GSX doesn't provide them with 'names' other than their positions though ...)

 

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Steady, steady ...

 

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And stopping ! Too bad that when it comes to perfect parking (and seeing GSX's 'marshaller dance') ... GSX is pretty picky and I'm still not skilled enough to park precisely at the mark). The marshaller didn't exactly score me well :( (That wasn't a very good parking) ... Oh well, let's just deboard and let the passengers enjoy Napoli ! (Don't drop them to the apron though ...)

 

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Overall deboardnig progress ! Quite uneventful I say :)

 

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Va bene a tutti ... Grazie molto per volare l'aereo Alitalia AZ1269 da Roma a Napoli. Vi assicuriamo che questa volta nessun bagaglio viene perso. Ricorda di procedere all'area di transito ed essere sicuri di controllare con la compagnia aerea per quanto riguarda il tuo prossimo volo se continui ad un'altra destinazione in aereo. Per coloro che soggiornano a Napoli, godetevi il vostro soggiorno e la bella cultura all'interno! Speriamo di vederti di nuovo a bordo di Alitalia :) (This is Italian ... Hope no misspellings)

 

Alright everyone ... Thank you very much for flying Alitalia flight AZ1269 from Rome to Naples. We assure you that this time no luggage is lost. Remember to proceed to transit area, and make sure to check with your airline regarding your next flight should you continue to another destination by air. For those who are staying in Napoli, enjoy your stay and the beautiful culture within ! We hope to see you again aboard Alitalia :) (and this is english)

 

(Oh yeah, I used AZ1269 since it (obviously) is much better than 'Orbit 221' used all the time during the mission, and AZ1269 is a real-world Alitalia FCO - NAP flight. Well, technically the mission is still on by the time I park, but ... As I said before, I've earned the reward beforehand so that doesn't matter to me)

 

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And so ... This is it guys, EI-WLA's first debut of service for Alitalia. Indeed it's not real life (in FSX) but at least EI-WLA can have a chance to fly with the name of AZ and its beautiful livery :)

 

Wish (again) that Alitalia can get out of whatever has been going on right now, and for us to be able to see the real-world EI-WLA actually flying for Alitalia someday :)

Just like Alitalia's slogan ; Vivi, ama, vola... A.K.A Live, Love, Fly...

 

All the best !

Wan Tjhen

 

(BTW since I have an exam tommorow ... I'm really sorry that I can't upload the livery pack here today. I promise that I'll upload the pack as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience everyone !)

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