There’s something new happening in air transport in Italy. Yes, once again someone is trying to launch a new Italian airline. Name: Aeroitalia. Colours: the traditional Italian colours which are, inevitably, the old Alitalia white, red and green. Network: initially focused on charters, but already looking at long-haul flights - from South America to the United States.

"We are the rebirth of air transport in Italy" says German Efromovich, Aeroitalia’s president and chief investor (together with French partner Marc Bourgarde), a well-known face in the world of aviation and, among other things, a former owner of Avianca. With an initial fleet of six B737-800s which will grow with B787 Dreamliners for intercontinental flights, the challenge is certainly not be an easy one as the debut coincides with the end of the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, which for many is putting a damper on travel.  Then there are the precedents - all unsuccessful despite the different business models and industrial plans - from Air Italy to Blue Panorma, which then became Luke Air.

So if anyone is bored by the tittle-tattle surrounding the former Alitalia, now Ita Airways, and its immediate future (probably with the MSC-Lufthansa group) they now have a new adventure to follow.

We wish the newborn company all the best: happy landings Aeroitalia!

Mariella Cattaneo
Journalist

Wizz Air launched its’s new Bari-Abu Dhabi route on 27 March.  The flight will be operated twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays up to the last Sunday of October 2022. These new flights to the capital of the United Arab Emirates - explains a note of Aeroporti di Puglia – replace the Wizz Air flights operated since 26 February to Dubai.

The load factor on the route has been 73%

"Our strategic plan - said Antonio Maria Vasile, president of Aeroporti di Puglia – is to extend our network of direct connections to market areas of great interest from northern Europe to the Middle East. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are two strategic hubs for connecting flights to the Far East and Oceania. The Apulia Region and Wizz Air have been working together on this ambitious project, and so far about 2,500 passengers have been carried, equal to a load factor of 73%,  and showing it was a wise choice”.   

Finnair will connect Helsinki with six Italia airports this summer and will have a full summer 2022 schedule of  some 70 European, five North American and eight Asian destinations.

Having updated its operations following the closure of Russian airspace, which impacted air traffic to Asia, the Finnish airline confirms its two flights to Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino, which are joined by four other seasonal flights to Bologna, Verona, Venice and Naples.

Flights to Europe and North America

"We continue to serve our main Asian destinations, even though our long-haul flights are affected by the closure of Russian airspace. We also have an excellent range of flights to Europe and North America," says Ole Orvér, CCO of Finnair.

Flights also to Venice, Bologna, Naples and Verona

The Italian network includes daily flights to Milan and Rome, daily services to Venice, flights to Bologna four times a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays), to Naples twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and finally three weekly flights to Verona  on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

A new Dallas Fort Worth route

On 27 March, Finnair opened a new route to Dallas Fort Worth, operating four weekly flights and with full connectivity to the American Airlines network in the United States. Another new route, to Seattle, opens on 1 June with three weekly flights. The carrier also operates daily to JFK New York and Chicag,o and to Los Angeles three times a week. In addition, Finnair has daily flights from Stockholm Arlanda to New York JFK, and Los Angeles flights four times weekly.

Ita Airways' long-haul summer season is ready to kick into full swing with new direct Milan Malpensa-New York JFK flights that started on 2 April.

An Airbus A330-200 operates the new JFK flights every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The A330-200 has three classes, Business, Premium Economy and Economy, and the highest standards of service in line with traditional Italian hospitality.

The aim is to total 42 weekly US flights

The Malpensa flights join the route already operating to New York JFK from Rome Fiumicino, and those from Rome to Miami and Boston that were launched in March. The new Malpensa-New York route consolidates the airline’s expansion in the United States which, after Italy, is the most strategically important market for the national airline. The aim is to total 42 weekly flights between the United States and Italy by August this year.

New intercontinental routes

Ita Airways' 2022 summer season includes 64 new destinations, 23 of which are domestic, 34 international and seven intercontinental. The expansion of the intercontinental network will continue in the coming months with the opening of new flights from Rome Fiumicino to Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Sau Paulo and Tokyo.

Once upon a time there was a route called MiMa, short for Milan-Manhattan, operated by Eurofly, an Italian airline with business class-only flights from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other. On board the Airbus A319 there were just 48 seats, exclusive service and a Campari to sip (the drinks company was a partner). The experiment was not a success and was dropped after just six months. But that was 2006... They were other times. And other planes… 

Now, starting on 15 April, the French La Compagnie is betting on all-business flights between the Big Apple and the Italian fashion capital. A 100% smart Business Class. And the step from Campari to champagne is a done deal! The aircraft is an A321neo with 76 seats in a 2-by-2 cabin configuration that guarantees maximum comfort with fully reclining seats and state-of-the-art entertainment on the 15'7" screen.

Premium service is guaranteed from check-in to landing, or even earlier as you can book a chauffeur-driven car transfer to and from the airport where you have access to lounges in which to relax or work before your flight. The culinary experience will also be unique, with gourmet menus created by celebrity chefs from New York and Paris and, of course, from Italy for the menus on flights departing Milan.

The only thing left to do now is to see if La Compagnie can snag a market share on the Milan-New York route, which has always been a favourite with carriers both US and not - from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to Ita Airways, Neos and Emirates - on which there is no shortage of premium fares.

Mariella Cattaneo
Journalist

WestJet is ready to relaunch its summer network, bringing it back to almost pre-pandemic levels. This means a full-scale return to transatlantic routes, and includes the introduction of some new frequencies, including the long-awaited direct Calgary-Rome Fiumicino flights. These were initially planned for May 2020 and then postponed due to the pandemic, but now they will be starting on 7 May, with three weekly frequencies.

Direct access to the Eternal City from Western Canada

"For the first time the people of Western Canada will have direct access to the Eternal City,” said Ed Sims, president and ceo of WestJet, at the announcement of the new service in late October 2019 WestJet’s ongoing strategy of expansion from Calgary reinforces the airline’s commitment to investing in an airport that is increasingly an international hub. “The use of the Dreamliner on the Rome route as well as the ability to operate non-stop also positions us as a preferred choice to travel to the Italian capital."

WestJet will operate 600 daily departures 

During the peak season the Canadian carrier will serve 43 domestic, 23 cross-border, 16 Caribbean and eight transatlantic destinations, restoring 94 percent of its pre-pandemic routes, with more than 600 daily departures across the entire network. WestJet also plans to increase connections between Halifax and Paris, London, Dublin, Glasgow and Edinburgh, while the new daily flights between Toronto and Chicago are scheduled to begin on 19 May, 2022.

Ryanair’s network grows this summer with new fights from Alghero in Sardinia and from Catania and Comiso in Sicily.

New Catania to Brussels, Frankfurt, Genoa and London flights

Flights on the two Sicilian airports increase with 32 frequencies from Catania Fontanarossa, including the four new entries to Brussels, Frankfurt, Genoa and London. There will be eight routes from Comiso Iblei Airport, including two new entries: Venice and Bari.

Over one million passengers in the next 12 months

Alghero has almost doubled the number of flights operated in the pre-pandemic period: over 160 weekly flights (90 more than in summer 2019) on 22 routes, including four new services to Bordeaux, Budapest, Cork and Dublin.  The airline estimates it will carry over one million passengers in the next twelve months.

Flights from Alghero to ten countries

"This growth reinforces our commitment to Sardinia, connecting Alghero with ten countries and giving tourism a much-needed boost in this long-awaited summer," said Jason McGuinness, commercial director of Ryanair.

EasyJet’s summer includes seven new routes in Italy: with new international flights from Naples, Venice, Bari and Pisa. It is also extending its Turin - London Gatwick with up to 5 flights per week during the summer.

Flights to the Greek islands 

Mykonos flights will operate again from 24 April, with two weekly frequencies, and from 27 June the new route to Kos will be inaugurated operating four weekly flights. In June three new routes from Naples to the Greek islands will start operations, with Kos, Santorini and Kefalonia all connected to Naples Capodichino Airport with two weekly frequencies.

Bari to Paris and Pisa to Berlin services 

Bari to Paris flights start from 27 March to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport with three flights a week, on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. From June Pisa sees the return of Berlin flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and for the first time Turin can count on the extension of the historic Turin-London Gatwick route through the summer season, operating up to 5 times weekly.

Tap Air Portugal is warming up its engines with a view to summer 2022 and, as of 27 March will be once again operating flights on six Italian airports, as it did before the pandemic, for a total of 93 weekly frequencies between Italy and its Lisbon hub.  

Flights from six Italian cities

As of 28 March and through the summer season Tap Air Portugal will operate 28 weekly flights from Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino, 14 from Venice and 8 from Florence, in addition to 7 from Bologna and 8 from Naples.

Punta Cana and Cancun are two new destinations from Lisbon

Starting on 21 June services to Caracas via Lisbon will resume with Tuesday and Saturday Airbus A330neo flights and a capacity of 298 passengers. Also via Lisbon, Tap passengers can fly to North America and to Brazil, which has now reopened its borders to leisure travel, Africa and the Portuguese islands.  Punta Cana and Cancun are two new destinations, with the possibility of a Portugal stopover free of charge for up to 5 nights, either on the outward or the return leg. 

A codeshare with Ita and high-speed Trenitalia combinations

Thanks to the codeshare agreement with Ita Airways Italian passengers can choose to depart not only from the six airports served directly by the Portuguese carrier, but also from Brindisi, Bologna, Bari, Catania, Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Lamezia Terme, Turin, Trieste and Verona. In addition, the agreement with AccesRail and the resulting codeshare with Trenitalia, means passengers can use high-speed train/plane combinations on the same ticket, starting or ending their journey in the central stations of many Italian cities.