Northern Italy Trip September 2015, Part 9 (Final): Paypal Charges and Lucky Upgrades at Malpensa Airport

I wanted to end my last post with the sightseeing section, but I got some « stuff » on the last travel day, so I’ll post one more article at the end.

Car rental return was smooth.

The day before, we stayed at a hotel about 10 minutes drive from Malpensa Airport. We left at 11 o’clock in the morning, so we could relax relatively. I had already prepared my luggage the day before, and I didn’t eat breakfast at the hotel because it was extra charge, so I could check out of the hotel quickly.

やや空港周辺は混雑気味だったので、ホテルから空港までは20分ほどかかりました。よく苦労するのはどこにクルマを返すのかがわからないことなのですが、最近はだいぶ慣れてきたせいでしょうか、空港であればなんとなくわかるようになりました。もっともしっかりと[highlight]「Rent a Car Return」[/highlight]という表示がだいたいある（ないところもあります！）ので、それさえ見逃さなければ比較的簡単に返すことができます。借りる場所と返却する場所が同じならば、なんとなく覚えていたりしますし、レンタカーを借りる時に具体的に返却場所を教えてもらえたりするので、比較的ラクでしょう。

By the way, I rented it at Malpensa airport this time and returned it here. I didn’t miss the « Rent a Car Return » sign, so I found the place to return the car without any problem. It was easy to see this sign and it was not so far from the rental car booth from the arrival lobby, so I think Malpensa airport is relatively easy to return the car.

Furthermore, fortunately, there was no trouble with the car at all this time, and the return of the car was also smooth.

Check-in complete, try the mysterious Paypal machine at the gate.

I had a hard time finding the check-in counter, but I was able to check in smoothly by asking at the information desk at the airport. One thing I was worried about when I checked in was the weight of my checked luggage. It seemed to exceed the 20kg limit for economy class. The main reason was that I bought wine in Verona and Milan, and my shoes for mountain walking also contributed to the weight increase. I think I weighed about 23kg when I was measured at the check-in counter, but somehow I was not blamed for anything.

After the check-in, I had breakfast at the airport cafe. Malpensa airport is surprisingly small, isn’t it?

I had a lot of time to spare, but I finished the security check early and headed for the gate while buying some souvenirs. Then I found a machine like this near the gate entrance.

Apparently, it’s a machine that allows you to charge your Paypal account with foreign currencies such as Euros you have left over. I had to pay a commission, but it looked interesting so I decided to try it out. First of all, I charged 10 euros. After that, I added another 20 euros because it was interesting.

First, you need to enter the email address you use for your account. After that, you can enter the amount of money you want to charge and put it into the machine. When the procedure is completed, you will receive an email from Paypal. It seems that the procedure at the airport is completed now.

After that, I boarded a plane and departed from Milan. I flew to Narita via Abu Dhabi (Etihad Airways).

なお、後日談になりますが、このPaypalアカウントへのチャージは、プレミアムアカウントにしていないとチャージできないということがわかりました。Paypalの通常のアカウントでは支払いしかできません。空港での入金こそ機械ですが、結局、その先の作業は、中の人（管理会社の人）が入金した人のPaypalアカウントにチャージする仕組みみたいです。ということで、この手続を行う際、僕のアカウントがプレミアムアカウントになっていなかったので、チャージができなかったようです。

I received an email from the person in charge, so I logged into PayPal and started the process. Basically, all you need to do is upload a photo or a scanned copy of your identification document that shows your current address, and then fill in the necessary information.

問題がなければ、後日PayPalから登録した住所が実際に存在するかどうかを確かめるため、ハガキが送られきます。そこに記載されている5桁の暗証番号をPayPalに改めてログインし、所定の入力箇所に入れればこれで登録完了。3日から4日程度で完了しました。これで問題なく中の人からのチャージを受け入れることができました。ECサイトを個人て運営しているような方は、基本プレミアムアカウントなのでしょうね。

Click here for a detailed explanation of Paypal Premium Account.

Lucky upgrade to Business Class

熟睡のうちにアブダビに到着。ここで数時間ほど待機。適当にゲームなどして過ごしました。そして、ゲートに乗るとき、搭乗券を係員に手渡すとなんだかアラートが出たようで、係員が搭乗券に書き込みをしながら「ここに座席変更となった」と言ってきました。すっごい前の方の席だったからこれはもしかして、と思って乗ってみたら予感的中、[highlight]ビジネスクラスへのアップグレード[/highlight]でした。いわゆるラッキーアップグレードというやつです。

I’m not sure what the criteria for this « lucky upgrade » is, but I’ve actually been upgraded in the same way once before. That time it was Lufthansa, and I think it was excess baggage too. And it wasn’t the weight, it was the number of bags. I tried to bring some souvenirs into the cabin, but the size of the souvenirs exceeded the allowed baggage allowance, so I had to give up bringing them in, but somehow there was no extra charge.

This is the first time I’ve had a lucky upgrade this time. Could it be that excess baggage increases the possibility of an upgrade? Regardless of whether it is or not, it is very nice to be able to spend a long flight to Japan in business class.

So, we boarded. It’s true that the legroom is wide and good. However, the width of the left and right side is wider than economy, but the impression that it was narrower than I thought is too extravagant.

Is the reclining also electric?

As soon as you sit down, a welcome drink is served. It’s been so long that I almost forgot about such a nice service (laughs). Delicious champagne.

Although I had gotten a bit of fast food at the airport, I decided to have a solid in-flight meal.

They seemed to have some wines as well. What a surprise, they had a Merlot from Saint-Emilion, so we ordered this one.

It was so good that I had to have another cup.

Now, the important thing is the in-flight meal, which was not so good. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t tasty.

However, we were very pleased with the cheese we received before dessert (we requested extra), which was good quality French and Swiss cheese.

After the meal, I wrapped myself in a warm and thick blanket and had a comfortable flight. And I returned home safely.

ということで、出発前いろいろいざこざもありましたが、終わってみれば非常に天気にも恵まれたよい旅となりました。まだまだイタリアには訪れることがいっぱい。今後も有力な旅行候補先であることにはかわりないでしょう。（北イタリア旅行2015年9年、完了）