Verona

My New Summer Base – Verona, Italy

As some of you might have noticed, I changed companies a few months ago. Whuuuut? Yes, it’s true! I am not based in Brussels anymore but in beautiful Verona, Italy! This means that I will fly from Verona most of the time. When I first joined the company I was so surprised about almost everything. The relationship with the cabin crew, the operation, the Captains, the amazing destinations and the airplanes. Instead of flying from A to B, back to A, I fly from A to B, C, D, E back to A. The A stands for Verona in this case! 😉


Verona - Dutch Pilot Girl - AlbaStar


Verona

Verona is such a romantic and beautiful city! Walking through the streets makes you feel like going back in time. I also noticed a lot of Dutch people visit this city and that it is full of tourists and mosquito’s during the summer. There are plenty of nice places to visit once you find yourself in Verona. Lake Garda, Venice or Milan are just “around the corner”. Also don’t forget the Adigeo mall, the Wild West restaurant there serves the best spare ribs in Verona (I love spare ribs).


Verona - Dutch Pilot Girl - My new home


My colleagues

I stay in a hotel near the airport together with 2 other guys, one Dutch Captain and a First Officer from the Faroe Islands. We get along really well and actually we don’t really have a choice. We see each other almost every day when we are off or on standby. At dinner after a flying day or at breakfast we quickly tell each other about our days. It is never boring and aviation humor is always present!


Verona - Dutch Pilot Girl


DB Verona Airport & Congress

As my Verona base is only a summer base, I stay in hotels all the time. It just isn’t worth the effort to find an apartment for only a few summer months. When I am flying I basically live in the DB Verona Hotel which is very good. The staff is really friendly and always willing to help. It’s also close to the airport and a reservation includes a free shuttle service at any time of the day which is super convenient since I need to travel back and forth to the airport quite often.



Flying

As this is a very small company, I fly a lot with the same people. Luckily all these people are truly amazing and lovely to work with. I have never done so many raw data approaches and manual flying in my life as I do right now. It makes me think back of one of my first videos I made, but instead of a Piper Archer, now in a Boeing 737. I have flown to many interesting destinations and islands, no day is the same. Marsa Alam, Helsinki, Tel Aviv and Samos are a few examples.


Verona - Dutch Pilot Girl


Thats it for Verona! On my Instagram account I share a lot of pictures that I took while staying here. My career brought me a lot of joy and hope it will continue to do so. So far I’ve stayed in Barcelona, Brussels and Verona… who knows which city I will be staying at next. Do you have anything to add to the article above? Perhaps you have some tips about Verona? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

21 thoughts on “My New Summer Base – Verona, Italy

  1. Hello Michelle!
    Even if you wrote this article 2 years ago, I’m writing here to say that Verona is a beautiful city. I stay there three months per year because my father is a musician and plays in the Arena di Verona Orchestra. Are you currently flying from Italy and from Verona?
    Anyway, I wish you all the best!
    Greetings from Italy,
    Stefano.

  2. Hello Michelle, I am fascinated by your videos. They are so enlightening and informative. I believe that girls are highly underrated when it comes to capability. It maybe due to male chauvinism or gynophobia. I don’t feel threatened. You have shown to girls out there, that the sky is the limit. ( Ok! Ok! I know…They can also become astronauts). My wife’s first name is Verona. Although we visited there, I so want to know everything about that place. The best to you in the future.

  3. Hi Michelle,
    i think it’s great when the plane returns safely with its pilots, despite lost screws, etc. Please tell us something about the pre-flight inspection by the pilot in a video. Always a hand’s breadth of air under the butt!
    Experienced avionic technican and PPL flyer 😉

  4. Greetings Michelle, My name is Alfred. I’m currently an A320 Captain woking in China. Ran into your videos while looking up stuff online about the EASA ATPL writtern test. Very good tips btw, thx ;D

    Love your enthusiasm, and wish you luck on your career in Aviation too. Cheers (y)

  5. You are a very brave lady. I’m 63 & had a heart attack 2.5 yrs ago but I still eat pizza ! Only the healthy ones …whole wheat dough, skim mozzarella cheese, low calorie tomato sauce & veggie topping. Fresh Slice Pizza. Remember life is better with prayer. Jesus is the same yesterday today & forever. Being so pilot takes a responsible person. Elvis had his own jet & private pilots. Once Elvis took the controls for a moment & put the plane on a down angle. The captain scolded Elvis.
    Elvis had his great positives but like all of us needed improvement in some areas.
    God bless you always Michelle Al&Daisy

  6. Hi Michelle, like you Im a pilot, right now I fly for American Airlines and I just bump into one of your videos and let me tell you that you are doing a very very nice job, showing the people not related to aviation what its like to be an airline pilot? Keep on the excellent job you are doing and wish you the best in your new adventure, you still have a lot to live and a lot to see, God bless you and have a nice landing

    1. Hi Nestor! Thank you very much for the feedback and compliments. I am glad to hear you like the content! Have a nice weekend and keep the wings level

  7. Hello Michelle! Congratulations for your new job. Would you say that having a stable romantic relationship is nearly impossible for a new pilot in a new airline? You should talk about this aspect of the aviation career. It seems to me that being single is almost the only choice for many pilots.

    1. Hi Jorge, thank you! It is definitely possible to be in a relationship while being a pilot. It can be tough though but it also comes with advantages you wouldn’t expect. For example, pilots with kids get to spend entire days with their kids while most other parents work during the day and bring their kids to daycare. It also keeps your relationship “fresh” because you never take each other for granted. You miss each other and that makes you aware of what you have and how you feel about your partner. It can be difficult to not be at with your family during the holidays for example, but you can make that right next year and there are many professions that face the same “problems” 😉

  8. Changing airlines just at the beginning of your career is quite brave decision. However, wish you lots of luck with this employer 🙂 Do you know, where you’ll be based during winter season? Some of the charter airlines do not fly too much during winter. Do you have layovers in this airline? And just because I’m curious – how many hours (more or less) have you already flown on 737?
    Have a great day and thanks for the answer (in advance)! :))

    1. Thanks Bartosz! I am currently based in Milan for the winter season. You are absolutely right, we don’t fly that much during the winter season and I have quite some days off at the moment 🙂 I do have layovers from time to time which is great because I also became a pilot to see the world. I have around 700 hours on type at the moment… Hoping to unfreeze my ATPL next year! Have a nice weekend! Michelle

      1. My best wishes for your new job. Albastar is a small company but i think you are in a better position now, less stressed, likely without the absurd rules of major low price Airlines. You will be able to enhance your experience of pilot without destroy yourself .
        Have a great week Michelle 🙂

          1. A little idea for your intersting YouTube videos or for this website: You are doing a lot of manual landing on sometime unknown little airports of small isles, moreover i pretty believe that often the runway is short and the wind huge. This experience is really formative for you, a good manner to become a better Pilot, still i think that many guys want to know what is the challenge, the risk for your plane and the fatigue for you not to have an ILS to help you :).
            This could help some joung Pilots to chose the right company and to decide to be a Pilot or a Robot :))).
            Best Regards 🙂

          2. Hi Alberto!

            I created an article and a video about an approach into Samedan. You can read it here. Is this the kind of video and article you meant? Or a more general video? Happy holidays!

  9. Hello Michelle it is great to hear that Your new Base is Verona. I may advise You to taste Pizzas ( Pizza Bolonez and Pizza Margaritha ) and I offer You to eat Ice Cream at hot weather ( only ) Because I don’t want You to be ill ( get cold because of Ice Cream ). Enjoy your every moment at your life. You are a good example of a Career Which Girls may have. I think You must attend to the Lectures and Conferences at Universitieas and at Public areas So You may teach girls how to be a Career lady. Good Luck to You.

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