Cathay Pacific is to operate weekly flights between Milan Malpensa and Hong Kong from 8 October 2022.

For the coming months of October and November the weekly direct flight will depart Milan on Saturdays and arrive in Italy on Fridays.

“Milan is an important business and leisure stopover” 

"The gradual easing of restrictions on entry to Hong Kong is spurring the resumption of Cathay Pacific's operations to Europe and the return to Milan Malpensa, an important stopover for business and leisure customers, is an important new milestone towards the full resumption of operations," says Maggie Wong, area manager - Southern Europe at Cathay Pacific.

Validity of cancellation penalties extended to 31 December

Flights to Italy will be operated with the new Airbus A350-1000, configured with three classes of service and a total of 334 seats (46 in Business Class, 32 in Premium Economy and 256 in Economy). The validity of Vola senza pensieri, the cancellation of penalties on booking and itinerary changes, has been extended to 31 December 2022. This allows passengers to change their travel dates and final destination at no extra cost until this date, and to fly by 31 December 2023.

Icelandair’s three Reykjavik-Rome flights may also operate this winter.

The direct twice-weekly flights, operated for the first time this year from Rome Fiumicino to Reykjavik-Keflavik, took off in July and will run until the end of October. 

High load factors

The initial load factor of 94% rose to 96% in August and in view of this success the company has already decided to bring forward the start of operations for next year to 14 May. It will also increase the number of weekly flights to three (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays). 

Excellent North American connections

The aircraft chosen by Icelandair for this operation is the new Boeing B737 Max in the -800 and -900 versions, and all flights have immediate onward connections to North America (New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago and Seattle).

Flights all winter? 

Still under consideration by Icelandair (represented in Italy by Discover the World) is the possibility of maintaining the flights during the winter season. This would allow Italian customers to experience the charm of Iceland under the snow, with the great icefalls and the wonder of the northern lights.

Ryanair will expand its Venice network with 20 new routes, placing a fourth aircraft in the lagoon city for the winter of 2022/23.

The further development worth US$100 million brings the total investment of the low cost airline at Marco Polo  Airport to $400 million, and a total investment of $600 million in the region thanks to the two aircraft based at Treviso airport.

330 weekly flights to 27 destinations this winter

Ryanair's Venice winter operation includes 330 weekly flights to 27 destinations, including 20 new routes: Stockholm, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Cologne, Copenhagen, Cork, Dublin, Fuerteventura, Gdansk (operational as of this summer), Helsinki, Katowice, Lanzarote, Lisbon, Madrid, Marseille, Nuremberg, Santander, Toulouse, Zaragoza and Vienna.

“This winter we will operate at more than 470% of our pre-Covid capacity on Venice”

"Although other carriers have reduced their pre-Covid capacity by almost 50%, the Save Group (Venice airport management company) has acted quickly and decisively to the advantage of the Veneto region, ensuring long-term growth by Ryanair - said Ray Kelliher, low-cost route development director -. This winter we will operate at more than 470% of our pre-Covid capacity on Venice. Ryanair's huge summer and winter operations in Venice will give inbound tourism a much-needed boost, restore vital connectivity and secure jobs in the wider tourism sector.”

Large cruise ships have returned to Venice thanks to launchers that circumvent the docking ban.

These nifty craft, carrying 150 passengers each, recently transported some 1,500 passengers into Venice from the Norwegian Gem stationed just outside the Lido. The system, agreed with the Venezia Terminal Passeggeri company and the harbour master's office thus made it possible to bypass the ban that from August 2021 has prevented ships over 25,000 tons from sailing into Venice via San Marco and the Giudecca.

A smart solution used for Greek islands

This is not a new solution as it is frequently used on Greek islands lacking ports of call capable of accommodating large vessels such as the 94-thousand ton Gem. The Norwegian line ship did not, however, technically call at Venice, as it did not require refuelling or other port services during its stay in the natural harbour outside the Lido.

Another headache for Venice’s municipality

However this solution provoked discussions with the port authority and with Venice’s municipality which did not take to it kindly. Councillor for tourism Simone Venturini told the Corriere del Veneto newspaper that this is not the ideal cruise ship model for the city. In fact, the municipality has been striving for some time to avoid hit-and-run cruise tourism, as evidenced by the recent decision to introduce an entry fee into Venice that will come into effect next year.

Trenitalia has introduced new direct Frecciarossa high speed services between the cities of Naples and Florence and Rome’s Fiumicino airport. This is the train operator’s first step in the integration between train and air traffic. Another novelty is the direct services between Rome airport and the stations of Napoli Centrale and Napoli Afragola.

Fiumicino airport with high-speed trains

There are also three new Frecciarossa trains operating to and from Fiumicino; two to and from Naples and one departing from Florence’s Firenze Santa Maria Novella.  These are in  addition to the Frecce (express trains) to and from Venice, Padua, Bologna, Florence and Rome, the direct Leonardo Express between Fiumicino and Rome’s central Termini station, and the numerous regional connections on the FL1 Fiumicino Airport-Rome-Orte line.

Arrive in New York in the afternoon from Rome or Florence 

The connections and timetables have been studied by Trenitalia and Aeroporti di Roma to best integrate the high-speed trains with intercontinental flights arriving and departing from Italy's leading airport hub. This greater integration between train and plane is aimed at consolidating Leonardo da Vinci airport's role as a smart hub, and thanks to these services passengers can arrive in New York in the early afternoon from Naples or Florence.

EasyJet has put on sale some of the new Italian 2022-23 winter routes. Starting on 1 November the new Paris Charles de Gaulle-Palermo flights will be introduced, operating two frequencies a week on Tuesdays and Saturday. The Palermo route is a new addition to the 76 that easyJet operates between Italy and France: 7 to and from Sicily (2 on Palermo and 5 on Catania), positioning itself as the leading company in terms of the number of flights operated between the two countries.

New routes for Milan and Venice

Another new route will be the Milan Malpensa-Madeira which will start operations on 4 December every Wednesday and Sunday. From 30 October it will be the turn of the Geneva-Venice, which will be operated twice weekly on Wednesdays and Sundays.

It’s the end of July. Holiday time. But not for everyone, and certainly not for the Italian government which is struggling with an existential crisis. Nor for the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Mef), called to decide on the sale of Ita Airways. A decision repeatedly given as imminent. But now, not helped by the Italian political crisis, time is running out.

On the table of the Treasury, with all the ingredients of a blockbuster (Ita Airways seems to have inherited at least the old Alitalia’s lamentable practice of bureaucratic delays), there are two proposals. One from Msc-Lufthansa, and the other from the Certares Fund, with the support of Delta Air Lines (the European partner of Air France-KLM). Just a few days ago Msc-Lufthansa looked like the winner, but the subsequent downshift brought on by the government crisis seems to have given a better chance to the second offer. The Certares plan, according to well-informed sources quoted in the press, would guarantee the Mef a more prominent role in the alliance, and a higher share than the 20% proposed by the competition. In addition to strong growth on the profitable North American market.

Because it would seem that the lucrative transatlantic routes - coveted not only by holidaymakers, but especially by business travellers - would provide significant expansion, alongside the growth of Rome Fiumicino airport as the third European hub (with Amsterdam and Paris) and as a potential new epicentre between Europe and the African continent.

The magic bullet? The tricky verdict will be announced any day now...

Mariella Cattaneo
Journalist

Korean Air reintroduced its direct Milan Malpensa-Seoul flights on 1 July. The three weekly Boeing 787 services, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, have a configuration of 24 seats in business and 245 in economy.

"The three flights from Milan are excellent for business passengers who represent the prevailing type of demand in the North of Italy, and at the same time are a response to the ever-expanding flow of tourist traffic from Korea and neighbouring countries,” commented Lee Ki Wook, regional manager Rome of the Asian carrier. 

 

Handy connections from Seoul to many destinations 

Lee Ki Wook added that the flights will also serve the community of Korean residents in Italy who will once again be able to reach the capital Seoul directly from Milan adding, “of no less importance for leisure traffic are the many connections we have from Seoul to destinations such as Bali, Manila, Cebu, Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Sydney and Aukland among others.”

Rome-Seoul flights again from September

The South Korean airline also confirmed that Rome Fiumicino-Seoul flights will once again be introduced on 1 September, with three weekly services on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, operated by a Boeing 747.

Emirates has reintroduced the Airbus A380 to Rome, confirming the company's recovery path and speeding up operations to meet the growing demand for travel in and out of Italy.

The Emirates A380 now flies to 34 destinations - including Sydney, Paris, and London - thanks to the addition of Rome Fiumicino.

People are redefining the travel experience

“The A380 is a true pillar of our network of destinations, and our customers adore flying on it - said Flavio Ghiringhelli, the company's Italy country manager. - The return of the Rome-Dubai route with a behemoth like the A380 is yet another tangible indication of how people have started to travel again and want to do so by redefining their travel experience. We are confident in our ability to meet the ever-increasing demand for flights to this destination.”

Three-class configuration

The double-decker aircraft, operating daily flights from Dubai to Rome Fiumicino and return, has 519 seats in a three-class configuration: 429 Economy Class seats, 76 Business Class seats, and 14 First Class seats.

Nine weekly Twin Jet Lyon-Milan Malpensa flights will operate starting in September.

Suspended due to the pandemic, from 12 September a 19-seat Beechcraft 1900D of the French company specialized in business travel will operate nine weekly flights between its Lyon-Saint Exupéry base and Malpensa airport. 

One-way tickets start at €69

The flights will have no competition on this route previously served by Air France, with one-way tickets starting at €69, including 20 kg checked baggage. From Lyon, the carrier will then offer four routes: Metz-Nancy Lorraine, Zurich and Stuttgart; Milan is also served by Marseille and Nice.

“We expect to return quickly to pre-pandemic levels”

“Demand is strong in these areas, and the connection between Lyon and Milan is complicated with minimum journey times of 4.5 hours by train and even longer by road - said Guillaume Collinot, the carrier's CEO. - Before the pandemic, the route was much in demand and we expect it to quickly return to those levels, thanks mainly to fares adapted to the recovery.”

A FlyingBlue partner 

Twin Jet is a partner of FlyingBlue the frequent flyer programme of the Air France-KLA group. Founded in May 2001 Twin Jet is a French company that operates 200 weekly regional flights connecting 15 cities in France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The company has a fleet of 13 Beechcraft 1900 D Airliners that offer both comfort and safety, and are approved to land and take-off at all times.