Where do TFC readers start from? The survey that tells who we really are

A few days ago I threw out a seemingly simple question In the WhatsApp channel of The Flight Club, a community that today counts over 75,000 members:

"What is your favorite departure airport?"

Within hours, thousands of responses came in. Not just any sample, but a real cross-section of those who read TFC every day, commenting, traveling, dreaming about the next prize ticket or the next must-have offer.

And what came out is not just a ranking of airports, but a pretty true picture of how our community travels.

Leading the preferences, with no surprises, are. Milan (Malpensa and Linate) e Rome Fiumicino. Milan collects over 2,000 votes, Rome touches the 1.500: together they account for more than half of the responses. But it is not just a matter of size or population. They are the airports where intercontinental routes, new in-flight products, premium cabins, and the best opportunities to use miles and status are concentrated. In other words, they are the ideal starting points for those who doesn't just fly, but lives the journey as an experience. And that is exactly the DNA of TFC.

Immediately behind emerge realities such as Venice and Bologna, which with 677 e 554 votes tell of an Italy that is flying better and better even outside the two major hubs. Here is the traveler who may not live in a metropolis, but has learned to consciously choose where to fly from: less chaos, good connections, interesting routes. It is Italy that has become "smart" even in the way of taking the plane.

And then there is a fact that made me smile: Bergamo, with 349 preferences. Orio al Serio is not an intercontinental hub and has no iconic lounges or dreamy first class, but it is the epitome of affordable flying, low-cost, impromptu weekends, and tickets taken on the fly. This issue says one thing very clearly: an important part of our community is young, flexible and price-conscious. People who may give up a little comfort, but never give up going. TFC isn't just business class and champagne at 35,000 feet-it's also the joy of flying a lot while spending a little.

Moving down the peninsula we find Naples (289 votes), Turin (249), Catania (146), Bari (139), Genoa (123) e Palermo (88). The numbers are smaller, but the message is strong: the South and "non-hub" cities are there, they read, they participate, they travel. But they often have to deal with a reality of fewer direct routes, less long-haul, more stopovers. And that's why many leave from their own airport ... only to reach another where the journey really begins. Not less passion, just more miles before takeoff.

Finally, there is the item "Others", which alone collects over 500 votes. And that is perhaps the most fascinating figure of all. Inside that number are Italians living abroad, expats, students, mobile workers, but also readers who don't even leave Italy. It is proof that TFC is now a community that goes beyond national borders, followed by Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Asia. A project born in Italy, but with an increasingly global gaze.

At the end of the day, this survey, born in the midst of our WhatsApp channel messages, tells more than a map of airports. It tells of a community made up of different souls: those who look for the perfect first class and those who look for the 19-euro flight, those who depart from Malpensa and those from an airport on the other side of the world, those who fly for work and those who fly to pursue a dream.

And perhaps that is the beauty of TFC: it doesn't matter where you leave from, but how you experience the journey. And on that, whether you take off from Rome, Milan, Bergamo or any airport in the world, we are all on the same course.