It’s blue all the way, from the heart of Milan to the capitals of Europe. How? On the new metro line, known as the Blue Line which connects the city centre with Linate airport and the M4.

With the completion of the first section from Linate, Milan’s city airport, to the Dateo stop (and by June 2023 right into central Piazza San Babila), the Lombardy capital will finally be one of the most accessible cities in Europe by air. Because flights from London Heathrow and City, Amsterdam, Paris Charles De Gaulle and Orly, Frankfurt, Brussels and Madrid, to name but a few, will all land at Linate.

At last! Because the line was originally planned to open seven and a half years ago for EXPO 2015.  Last week the automated driverless trains, as on the M5 Lilla line, started serving the first five kilometres of the line, which will be 15 kilometres long and have 21 stations when work is completed in 2024. Then the Blue Line will have 47 trains and carry 24,000 passengers an hour in each direction, for a total of an estimated 86 million people a year. 

The M4 is just one more part of a larger project to expand Milan's metro network, and it has come in for its fair share of delays and rising costs, as well as an announced increase in the price of urban tickets, which currently cost €2 on buses, trams and metro for 90 minutes.  Now the city council wants to double the line to 200 kilometres, with a possible link as far as Monza. Which would make Milan and Monza the first two Italian provinces connected by a metro.

Mariella Cattaneo
Journalist

Air China is upping the ante on Milan Malpensa which, from 28 November next, will be connected with a new direct flight to Wenzhou, a port and industrial city in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

 The route will be served once a week with Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The new service is in addition to the other two Air China routes already operated between Italy and China: Milan-Beijing (one flight a week) and Rome Fiumicino-Hangzhou (two flights a week).

Hangzhou-Rome flights have been reinstated

Beijing-Milan currently operates non-stop on the outward flight to the Lombardy capital and via Shenyang on the return, while Hangzhou-Rome is non-stop in both directions and was reinstated last October after being suspended from February 2020 due to the pandemic.

Air China operates on 11 European destinations 

The launch of the Wenzhou-Milan route comes as Air China has resumed flying between Chongqing and Budapest, with weekly flights on Fridays operated by A330-300s, after the return of Beijing-Budapest last July. As of today the Chinese carrier therefore serves 11 destinations in Europe, most of them only once a week due to the strict Chinese travel restrictions still in place.

Milan Malpensa has flights to four Chinese cities

For Milan Malpensa, the route to Wenzhou brings to four the destinations served in mainland China, with Neos flying to Nanjing and Tianjin, and the Air China Beijing flights.

Aeromexico will arrive in Italian skies on 26 March 2023, launching Mexico City-Rome Fiumicino flights.

Initially, the airline will operate three weekly Boeing 787 flights, which will become five weekly on 1 June. With the new flight, Aeromexico's flights between Europe and Mexico will increase by more than 20%  compared to the summer of 2022, totalling 54 weekly frequencies. 

“Improving accessibility between Central-Southern Europe and Central America”

"According to Iata, in 2019 more than 220,000 passengers flew between Italy and Mexico," said Federico Scriboni, Head of Aviation Business Development at Aeroporti di Roma. "We are confident that the launch of this route will help improve accessibility, developing flows and exchanges between Central-Southern Europe and Central America. After a record summer for North American companies, which in October recorded +20% of passengers compared to the same month in 2019, Rome is confirmed as one of the most sought-after destinations also for the summer of 2023".

Important for tourism, cultural exchange and business travel

"The new direct flight between Mexico City and Rome is extraordinary news. It is the result of several years of work and represents recognition by the Aeromexico Group of the potential of bilateral relations between the two countries, -  said the Mexican ambassador to Italy, Carlos García de Alba. -This new route will not only encourage tourism and cultural exchange, but will also serve to promote greater economic and social growth between our countries and is of fundamental importance for business travel.” 

Flydubai is to expand its 2023 network with six new destinations, including two Italian cities, Milan-Bergamo and Cagliari. The other new destinations are Corfu, Hofuf, Krabi and Pattaya. Since the beginning of 2022 the company has operated flights to more than 20 destinations. 

Cagliari Sardinia

Milan Lombardy

“We have 113 destinations now available for booking”

"The Dubai aviation industry has faced a rapid recovery and our agility, coupled with our strong business model, has enabled us to scale up our operations and reach this significant milestone," said Chief Executive Officer Ghaith Al Ghaith. “The addition of these six routes will result in the expansion of Flydubai's network to 113 destinations in 53 countries; an important milestone that represents the largest number of destinations that the company has ever offered.  

“The Dubai-Milan-Bergamo route will operate from 10 March”

The Dubai to Milan-Bergamo route will be operated from 10 March, initially with five flights weekly which will then increase to daily. To Cagliari there will be three flights every week, operating from 22 June 2023.

Italian start-up airline Aeroitalia will soon be flying from Florence, in addition to its Milan Bergamo and Trapani operations. 

"In December we will position a Boeing 737-700 and a leased Atr 72 in Florence. Our short and medium-haul network will consist initially of four or five destinations, including London Heathrow,” says executive vice-president operations Ugo Calvosa. 

 

Ugo Calvosa

A fleet of Boeing 737-800Ngs

Starting in December London will be connected to Milan Bergamo where the airline has won many slots, “thanks to a perfect combination of far-sightedness, boldness and a fair dose of good luck,” adds Calvosa. “Bergamo will be a strategic destination for Aeroitalia's development. Paradoxically we live in a country that attracts tourists like few others, but where Italian airlines carry an absolute minority of inbound traffic. We currently operate with three Boeing 737-800Ngs, but at the end of November a fourth will join us, followed by a fifth at the beginning of December. The sixth will arrive in February and a seventh is also possibly in the pipeline. 

New Boeing 737 Maxs and ATR72s

"We will also get three Boeing 737 Maxs between 2023 and 2024. Most of the aircraft will be positioned at Bergamo airport, with Rome as a secondary base.  And a second ATR72, to the one currently based at Trapani could be added to develop a regional network, which in addition to Italy could include Austria or Switzerland.”

Long-haul charters on the cards

With the target of one million passengers in 2023, the plan is to go long haul.

“We will stay with Boeing, so we are looking at the 787, but delivery times are long, up to 2025. With a bridging solution we could break into long haul so we could start with ad hoc operations next summer, perhaps with charters to destinations like the Maldives, Kenya or Cuba.” 

Inbound operator Italia Highlights will celebrate its first ten years in business with the opening of a Milan office that will develop new corporate contacts as well as activities related to top-end services and products.

The company is also launching the new season with a completely revamped website. Thanks to the “concrete consolidation of the recovery," the aim is "the development of an increasingly top-end product that reaches out to new clients. Our estimated growth for 2023 is +20%,” says Luca Carnesecchi, owner and managing director of the Castagneto Carducci operator, who has 25 years of experience in inbound travel.

Unique tours with charming hotels, villas and residences

The focus is on "Tuscany and the Italy of excellence. Everything is strictly tailor-made, from customized tours for small groups to private events for groups of friends or corporate and incentive gatherings, also working with professional artists and musicians, to independent travelers looking for new experiences." The common denominator is “uniqueness and exclusivity, whether it be the discovery of a winery, or a bike tour along the coast. All complemented by charming accommodation, from classic 4 and 5-star hotels to a selection of private villas with swimming pools, historic residences and boutique hotels in various Italian destinations such as Tuscany, Lombardy, Piedmont and Lazio." 

 

“Relais dei Molini in Bolgheri will get new suites and concierge services”

Like the Relais dei Molini: a charming B&B owned by Italia Highlights with only seven rooms and suites and views from Bolgheri’s world-famous DOC vineyards to the sea. “In the short-medium term we will be adding more suites and concierge services.” Also in the pipeline is the exclusive marketing of a new property, also in Castagneto, set to open in spring 2023.

Partner of the Global Golf Tourism Organization 

The new site, "which is still evolving," fully reflects the operator’s philosophy which is "purely B2B, and aimed at the up-level market segment. We see the site as a way of making our company, product format and programmes known, also through an emotional area called Get Inspired. We are increasingly targeting the luxury segment. Being small we are flexible and able to customize.” Small maybe...but with a turnover of €2 million pre-Covid, and with 2022 the first real year of recovery, “already close to pre-pandemic figures.”  Italia Highlights has also just partnered as a golf tour operator and DMC with Iagto (International Association of Golf Tour Operators) in anticipation of the Ryder Cup which will be held in Rome in 2023.

Touring Italy on Trenitalia’s high-speed trains

Another fundamental element of the leisure programme, which privileges wine tourism and outdoor activities as part of a compendium of varied experiences and activities, are the tours of Italy by train. 'We are one of Trenitalia's main tour operator partners, and our itineraries are a voyage of discovery around the country.  The excellence of the high-speed trains matches our equally excellent experiences and tailor-made services, from arrivals in stations to suitable accommodation and transfers with mini vans.”

Ita Airways, with over 90 weekly Rome and Milan flights to London, is keeping a weather eye on the UK market: on the one hand by being at the World Travel Market in London this week and then with a multi-channel advertising campaign that will air in London until 1 December. 

On digital screens in London stations

With the claim Destination: You the new campaign is on digital screens in the city's main railway and underground stations including Waterloo, Bond Street, Euston, King’s Cross, Piccadilly Circus, and the imposing NOW building on Tottenham Court Road. An incisive online banner advertising campaign will also be launched.

Ita Airways’ goal is to be one of Europe’s greenest airlines

At the WTM Ita Airways is in the Italian Pavilion (next to the Piazza Italia area, stand EU 200) to promote its flights for the British market, where the airline operates more than 90 return flights a week between London and its two hubs: Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate. The company's commitment in the field of sustainability will also be at the centre of its activities at the World Travel Market: ITA Airways' goal is in fact to become one of the greenest airlines in Europe by 2026, with 80% of its fleet flying new generation aircraft.

Daily flights to London Heathrow and City Airport

There are two daily connections from Rome and Milan Linate to London Heathrow, for a total of 28 return flights a week from Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate respectively, and 36 return flights a week from Linate to London City Airport. 

Expanding its long-haul destinations

In the meantime Ita Airways continues to expand its intercontinental network: winter operations include 51 destinations, of which 9 intercontinental, 22 international and 20 domestic. It is also focusing on expanding its long-haul destinations with some important new routes such as New Delhi, Maldives (Malé) and Tokyo-Haneda, in addition to those for New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo that started at the beginning of the year.

Milan’s Malpensa airport is once again close to pre-pandemic levels. A recovery in grand style with 97% of 2019 traffic registered this September.  Which is by no means to be taken for granted considering the fundamental contribution of long-haul traffic, and passenger flows that have lagging behind short and medium haul traffic in the post-Covid restart. 

The recovery is even more impressive if we then add the return of flights from Asia, with both Korean Air, from Seoul, and Cathay Pacific Airways, from Hong Kong, back in Malpensa's skies. Then just a few days ago Eva Air made its debut from Seoul after a two-year delay, and All Nippon Airways is expected next spring.

"Traffic has been returning to normal since the industry restarted, although there are still risks due to the ongoing conflict in Europe," said Armando Brunini, managing director of Sea Aeroporti, which manages Milan’s Linate and Malpensa airports.  “Our airport system recovered fast, posting 97% of pre-pandemic traffic in September.  We now have over 195 destinations, and 75 airlines." And, barring unforeseen external events, Malpensa airport's Terminal 2 could be reopened "for the summer of 2023,” and with some novelties “certainly from a technological point of view.”

Everything seems to point to Malpensa handling 37 million passengers by 2035, a +40% increase over the pre-Covid period, as envisaged by the recent National Airport Plan. But there are still some knots that need to be undone, such as the 'in-house competition' of Linate, Milan's city airport, and the lack of a carrier using Malpensa as its hub.

Mariella Cattaneo
Journalist

Eva Air has finally launched the first flight between Italy and Taiwan: the Boeing 777-300ER took off from Milan Malpensa on 27 October for Taipei, over two years later than the airline's original plans, due to the pandemic. There are currently two weekly frequencies with more on the way.

“Italy is now Taiwan's third trading partner in Europe”

"The opening of a new operational base in the European market for the first time in 25 years is a moment of great importance for us, and we are very happy that it will happen in Milan," said Clay Sun, president of Eva Air. "With the launch of the new Milan-Taipei flight, there will be more direct and consolidated contacts and exchanges between Italy and Taiwan in the economic-commercial, cultural, and academic fields. Italy is now Taiwan's third trading partner in Europe, after Germany and the Netherlands, and the world's 18th.”

Developing leisure and business traffic

"With Taipei the portfolio of routes expands, and the country’s connectivity with the rest of the world is improved in terms of number and quality. I hope that the frequencies between Taipei and Milan will soon increase, thanks to the traffic potential and the growth of traffic to and from Asia," said Armando Brunini, CEO of Sea, recalling how “Milan and the Lombardy region combine the right mix of leisure and business useful for developing traffic.”  

Taiwan had up to 11 million visitors annually pre-pandemic

Taiwan reopened its borders to tourists, including groups, on 13 October, ending the Covid-19 legislation's mandatory three-day quarantine period for arriving travellers. Taiwan's Transport Minister Wang Kwo-tsai hopes that by 2024 air travel to Taiwan will have returned to pre-crisis levels. Taiwan had up to 11 million visitors per year prior to the pandemic. Eva Air already has routes to London, Paris, Vienna, and Amsterdam in Europe, and the new Munich route will begin service on 3 November.

Aeroitalia is ready to take off for London Heathrow, launching its network of international flights on 1 December.  With this start of flights to London the airline is accelerating its expansion from Milan’s Bergamo airport with five weekly Boeing B737-800s frequencies on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.   

Long-haul projects from Milan Bergamo

Aeroitalia's initial network from Milano Bergamo includes three daily flights to and from Rome Fiumicino and, beginning in December, Catania (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday) and Bacau (two weekly flights on Friday and Sunday).  The airline will have five B737-800s by March 2023 and its growth strategy includes flights to other European hubs besides London from next summer, including Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam. 

Preparing for the winter

The company has inaugurated a new operational base in Trapani from which it will connect four destinations using a 68-seater ATR72-600: Catania and Forlì, which began last summer, and two new routes, Florence and Cagliari, from 1 December. The Catania route will be boosted in January based on user feedback. Perugia will be among the next top five destinations, with Milan Linate and Verona already on the radar.

The emphasis is on airports with good services

“It is a significant opportunity for our airline, and the hope is to develop new synergies to improve the passenger experience,” said CEO Gaetano Intrieri. “We choose 'best in class' airports for our passengers,” said chief commercial officer Krassimir Tanev, “and Trapani was chosen because it has excellent passenger services and ease of entry and exit from the airport.”