Today I’m on my way back home. I think I’m leaving just in time because it’s already very warm here in Tirana and they’re expecting the temperature to go up to 40 degrees later in the week.

Getting to the Airport

I check out of the hotel at 03h30. If I’m perfectly honest, I’m not really surprised that the car I ordered the evening before is nowhere to be seen. But the staff at reception are great. They ask me to take a seat, not to worry and let them handle it. While I wait, they bring me an espresso and a still water.

Eventually, a car comes to a screeching halt in front of the hotel and a harassed looking young man jumps out of the car. He apologizes profusely as he takes my suitcase and loads it in the car. And then we’re off. I can hear my suitcase being jostled from side to side in the booth and my driver takes advantage of the empty roads at this tine of day to make up for lost time.

I tell him to slow down, and that the flight won’t depart until 05h35. But he explains that he’s in a hurry, because he needs to return to Tirana for his next pick up to the airport in five minutes. And so we continue at lightning speed down the narrow roads of Albania, with the car shifting precariously from side to side on its tormented suspension. We arrive at the airport after only twelve minutes. Bloody hell!

Check-In

ITA Airways has three counters open. One for Skypriority passengers, and two for everyone else.

From check-in, I head one floor up to security and immigration. And then I’m airside. Outside I can see a perfect lineup of 23 Airbus narrow bodies, and it looks as though they’ll all be leaving at the same time.

The Tirana Airport Business Class Lounge

I just love the font they use to indicate the gate number. It’s very gothic.

The lounge is located one floor above the public airside waiting area.

The decor is a bit unusual. I think what they were going for was rustic Albanian farmhouse chic. I’m not convinced, though…

The buffet is quite extensive, although the dishes on offer are not especially oriented to breakfast.

Boarding

Boarding starts at 05h00 from Gate 4. There are two busses. From what I can tell from the surreptitious glance I take at the screen, there are 110 passengers on the flight.

Once we finally reach the aircraft, I disembark last from the bus and wait for everybody else to board first while I take some photos.

The Cabin & Seat

This is another former Alitalia aircraft. There are only two rows of Business Class. Originally, I’m on 1 A. But seeing as there is already somebody on 1 C, I decide to move one row back to 2 F.

The seat pitch is good on row 2.

The Meal – Breakfast

The flight time to Rome is 55 minutes. As soon as the seatbelt sign is turned off, the crew start the breakfast service. On the tray is a plate with a small Danish pastry and a cheese and ham tramezzino.

There’s also a strawberry Actimel, which is supposed to… keep you regular? The fruit is tinned, so I don’t have any of it to avoid the sugar.

Arrival

The outside views are somewhat limited inflight. There is lot of haze in the air, making it impossible to see the ground.

We land in Rome at 06h38, 22 minutes ahead of schedule. We park on a remote stand, from where we are shuttled to the terminal.