Which airport should you actually fly into?

Linate is 10 km from the centre, Malpensa is 50, Bergamo Orio al Serio is 52. The useful question is not which airport is closest, but which one leaves you on the right side of the city: a hotel in the east is a short drive from Linate and a long one from Malpensa.

Journey time is decided by traffic, not by the map. The A8 into the city and the ring road can double a journey the distance predicts as short, and the difference between a 07:00 arrival and a 17:00 arrival is larger than the difference between airports.

Malpensa has the intercontinental and long-haul flights and is the only sensible choice when nothing else flies where you are going. Linate is the city airport: a third of the distance, and the one to prefer for a European trip with hand luggage. Bergamo Orio al Serio serves the low-cost carriers and adds a motorway hour whatever the destination.

In practice the airline makes the choice before you do: some routes exist from only one of the three airports, and arguing about distance when the only flight leaves from Bergamo Orio al Serio makes no sense. When you genuinely have the choice, the real question is where in the city you need to arrive.

Look at the map first, then the ticket price. If you are staying in the east of the city, Linate is a few minutes away; if your appointment is to the west, towards the exhibition district or the motorway to Turin, Malpensa is the more logical choice.

For a single night in the centre, Linate remains the best compromise: you land close by and do not spend the first hour of your stay on a motorway. If the schedule is tight and starts early in the morning, the airport that lets you sleep half an hour longer is worth the distance.

For anyone continuing towards the lakes or the towns of Lombardy, the choice shifts again: from Malpensa the roads north are direct, from Bergamo Orio al Serio you are already on the right side for the Bergamo area and the Camonica valley. The transfer is not an isolated leg, it is the start of the itinerary.

Then there is the case of groups and families: with a lot of luggage or children in tow, a smaller, quieter airport such as Linate or Bergamo Orio al Serio saves time at security, while Malpensa wins when the convenient route is only its own.

None of these rules is absolute, which is why we quote the transfer on the real journey: airport, address and arrival time. That way you know what the last leg costs before you choose, and you pick the airport with a figure in hand rather than a guess.

From the moment you land, your first contact is not with the city but with whoever is waiting for you. Our chauffeur tracks the flight from take-off: if it lands early or late, the meeting time moves by itself and there is no one to notify.

In the arrivals hall you find the chauffeur with the name sign and the flight number, at a point we give you before departure. The first sixty minutes after landing are included in the price, time to collect your bags without waiting becoming a line on the bill.

From Linate the drive to the centre is short, from Malpensa and Bergamo Orio al Serio it is longer, but the logic does not change: a fixed price for the whole car, tolls and fuel included, no charge per person. The traffic on the ring road is our problem, not a line on your account.

On board you find water, adjustable climate control and room to work or rest: on the longer journeys the drive is also the time to answer a few last emails or arrive at the hotel refreshed. If you are travelling with children, approved child seats and boosters are free on request.

To book you only need the airport, flight number, destination and passengers with luggage: we reply within ten minutes, at any hour, with a fixed price. No deposit is needed and you pay on board, by card or cash, or by invoice for companies.

The conversation before departure is half the service: if you tell us where you are staying and what time your first commitment is, we will tell you which of the three airports saves you the most time overall, not just on the drive. Sometimes the answer is counter-intuitive, and it is better to know it before buying the ticket.

The published airport fares apply to the whole car, not per person, and include tolls, fuel and waiting: they are the same from Malpensa, Linate and Bergamo, so the comparison between airports starts from identical terms rather than a pricing trick.