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.

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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.   

Asiana Airlines returns to Rome from Seoul twice weekly after a two-year interruption due to the pandemic.

Currently between Seoul and Rome Fiumicino flights departs every Tuesday and Saturday and from Seoul's Incheon Airport passengers can connect to other destinations, including Japan, China and some parts of the Pacific.

“We hope for a rapid recovery of tourist and business traffic”

"The resumption of two flights a week is an important first step in restoring air connectivity between Italy and South Korea, and we hope for a rapid recovery of tourist and business traffic between the two countries," commented Kim Hyeoktae, general manager Italy of Asiana Airlines.

Asiana is rebuilding its intercontinental network

"The reactivation of the direct flights between Rome and South Korea is an important signal for the resumption of air connectivity with the Far East, and we hope to see more and more countries reopen to international markets - underlined Federico Scriboni. - We are proud that Asiana has chosen Rome as part of its strategy to rebuild its intercontinental network, focusing on the relevance of the market and the quality of service and airport infrastructure that make Fiumicino the most popular airport in Europe.”

Eva Air is betting on Italy with a new Taiwan-Milan Malpensa route starting on 25 October.

The route was originally scheduled to debut in February 2020 but was suspended due to the outbreak of the pandemic. 

Two weekly Boeing 777-300er flights

Tuesday and Saturday flights, operated by a Boeing 777-300er, are planned on the Taiwan-Malpensa route, joining those already operating to London, Amsterdam, Paris and Vienna. Then on 3 November these will be joined by another new entry, Munich, on which Eva Air will operate four weekly frequencies. Tickets are already on sale through all the airline's sales channels.

Milan and Munich passengers arrive early in Taiwan

Milan and Munich are Eva Air's first expansion in the European market in 25 years. The carrier currently flies non-stop to Taipei from Paris and Vienna and operates direct flights from London and Amsterdam with a stopover in Bangkok. Passengers from Milan and Munich arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport early in the morning, and from there can connect with flights to Eva Air’s numerous destinations in Asia.

Aeroitalia’s inaugural flight from F.A. Forlì airport took off for Brindisi on Saturday 9 July, the first of the scheduled services operated by the new independent Italian airline.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony

At a brief ceremony in Forlì’s air terminal shortly before the departure of the flight Giuseppe Silvestrini, president of F.A. Forlì Airport, and German Efromovich, non-executive President of Aeroitalia, cut the tricolour ribbon.

"Finally we are flying with a company that will allow us to reaffirm the concept of Forlì Airport as the airport of the Romagna region," commented Giuseppe Silvestrini adding that it is an honour to have Aeroitalia by their side

 

“Today a new era has begun in the world of aviation”

"This is an historic moment - said German Efromovich, - not only because it is Aeroitalia’s first flight, but because of the relationship that has been created with the management of F.A. Forlì Airport, which has always believed in our project. Today a new era has begun in the world of aviation, and we are proud of it.” 

Flights to another 8 destinations

Two other Aeroitalia flights were inaugurated last Saturday, one to Catania and one to Lamezia Terme . On Sunday fights started to Olbia and Naples, and from today flights from Forlì will gradually be introduced to Malta, Zante, Lampedusa and Alghero.

Other news about Aeroitalia: 

Aeroitalia will be a low-cask carrier says president Germán Efromovich

Aeroitalia. The new Italian airline with big ambitions

Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci is confirmed Europe’s best airport, having received the ACI Europe Best Airport Award 2022 in the category of hubs with over 40 million passengers.

Airport Council International (ACI) is the association that objectively assesses passenger satisfaction in the world's major airports.

Top among European airports

According to a jury of professionals from the European travel sector, ADR has placed top among European airports for the fourth time in the last five years based on customer satisfaction surveys.

Outstanding technological innovation

The Leonardo da Vinci airport was awarded for its outstanding technological innovation achievements, as well as how it has responded to the crisis and how it is innovating by focusing on sustainability goals. The Rome airport’s strategy is focused on a future in which innovation and digitization will be used to increase traveller safety and comfort.

Net Zero Emissions

Special recognition was given to Fiumicino's goal of becoming Net Zero Emission in 2030, 20 years earlier than the target set for European airports. This will entail intermodality, with the development of integrated train+aircraft services, and the use of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), the biofuel that can reduce CO2 emissions by 60–90%.

Passionate commitment

"We are proud of this new record – said Marco Troncone the CEO of Aeroporti di Roma - which is the result of the daily and passionate commitment of our collaborators and all our partners. We are working on the construction of the airport of the future with greater use of technology, maximum efficiency with regard to the environment, maximum safety, and a lot of comfort and value-added services for passengers. Just over a month ago we inaugurated an extensive new boarding area. This will play a crucial role in ensuring that Rome and Italy can reaffirm their centrality on the international scene.”