Alitalia introduced its new non-stop intercontinental route between Milan Malpensa and Abu Dhabi, with operations starting on March 29, 2015.
The event was hosted by Ariodante Valeri, Chief Commercial Officer of Alitalia, and Jim Mueller, Senior Vice President Global Sales of Etihad Airways, the strategic equity and codeshare partner of Alitalia, which has added its ‘EY’ code to the service.
The new connections with Abu Dhabi will strengthen Alitalia’s intercontinental offering from Milan and Northern Italy. This year, Alitalia will operate more intercontinental destinations from Malpensa than any other airline.
Passengers will be able to travel from Milan and Northern Italy to the United Arab Emirates, and continue, thanks to Etihad Airways’ extensive global connections, to over 30 destinations in the Middle East (Bahrain, Muscat, Kuwait, Dubai and Al Ain), Africa (Johannesburg, Nairobi and Khartoum), the Indian Subcontinent (Mumbai, Kochi, Delhi, Bangalore, Karachi, Lahore, Dacca, Malè, Seychelles and Colombo), the Far East (Beijing, Seoul, Phuket, Chengdu, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta) and Australia (Melbourne, Sydney and Perth).
In addition to the upcoming flights between Milan Malpensa and Abu Dhabi, Alitalia will also launch a new service to the capital of the United Arab Emirates from Venice on March 29, tripling its Abu Dhabi service to 42 weekly flights.
Its network expansion will continue on May 1, when a non-stop service will be launched from Milan Malpensa to Shanghai, coinciding with Expo Milano 2015.
Alitalia and Etihad Airways are the Official Global Airline Carriers of Expo Milano 2015. The new flights from Milan Malpensa to Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, together with an increased frequency of Tokyo flights and a daily service to New York, will provide visitors to Milan and the EXPO with even more extensive travel options.
Ariodante Valeri, Chief Commercial Officer of Alitalia, said: “Abu Dhabi is the gateway to the East, offering a range of destinations served by our partner Etihad Airways to Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, the Far East and Australia. We continue on our path to building an airline committed to the expansion of new long-haul routes to meet market demands. Milan Malpensa will have an important role in this strategy, especially during the EXPO, when Alitalia will provide direct service to Shanghai.”
Alitalia’s first flight from Milan Malpensa to Abu Dhabi will depart Sunday, March 29, at 10.10 pm and will arrive in Abu Dhabi at 6.15 am (local time) the following day.
Flights from Abu Dhabi will depart at 8:45 am (local time) and arrive at Milan Malpensa at 1.25 pm. The daily service will be operated using a Boeing B777 aircraft configured with 293 seats in three classes of service: Magnifica (business class), Classica Plus (premium economy) and Classica (economy).
Jim Mueller, Senior Vice President Global Sales of Etihad Airways, said: “We are delighted to build on the success of our Alitalia codeshare agreement with the inclusion of the airline’s new daily flights from Milan to Abu Dhabi. Following the launch of this service, which complements our own daily service between the two cities, Alitalia and Etihad Airways will together offer 70 flights per week between Italy and Abu Dhabi, providing unmatched depth and breadth into and out of Italy.”
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