How to get there…….
Pavia used to have an airport in the days of flying boats, but now relies on its proximity to Milan (it’s 35kms south of Milan) with the excellent road and rail connections with Milan and hence with the outside world.There are plenty of low-cost flights to many destinations in Northern Italy and it makes sense to combine the meeting with a short holiday/visit to places like Venice, Padua, Verona and Bergamo as well as the Italian lakes. A full list of low-cost flights is given in the following site http://www.ihv.it/low-cost-1.htm.  In particular, note, that in addition to the traditional Milan airports, Milano Linate and Malpensa (http://www.sea-aeroportimilano.it/), there are two upcoming airports: Milano Orio al Serio (=Bergamo) http://www.orioaeroporto.it/ and Genoa http://www.airport.genova.it/italia/index.php. All these airports are within a range of 100 kms. With the exception of Genoa, where Pavia is the last major stop before reaching Milan on the Milan-Genoa line, surface transport from airports to Pavia usually requires you to catch a train from Milan Central Station to Pavia going towards Genoa/Nice/La Spezia. The journey takes about 25-35 minutes according to train and time of day. For train details see: http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html. The service is frequent but sometimes the trains will go to/from Milano Rogoredo, Milano Lambrate and Milano Garibaldi, all of which are interconnected to each other and Milan Central  Station by the underground.
 
Getting from the airports to the Milan Central Station.

Check out the Autostradale website: http://www.autostradale.it/. From Milano-Malpensa you can also catch the Shuttle bus to Milan Central Station  (www.airpullman.com/shuttle/shuttlee.htm). Also checkout the SGEA site which at certain times of the year goes direct to Pavia www.sgea.it/tratte_malpensa.htm. For Milano Linate-Pavia, checkout the SGEA bus service direct from the Airport to the Pavia railway station (Moderno/Excelsior/Ritz  Hotels): www.sgea.it/tratte_linate.htm. There are 7 buses a day in each direction every day of the year. The SGEA bus stand is clearly marked outside the Air Terminal both in Linate and Malpensa. You buy the ticket on the bus. For Genoa-Pavia, catch the Volabus (3 Euros) to Porta Principe station (NOT Brignole).  For Milano-Orio al Serio (Bergamo) see the Autostradale website.