Aer Lingus is betting on summer 2022 with a network of 71 routes, 16 of which are transatlantic, to 62 destinations. The Irish airline has extended its Book with Confidence policy allowing all passengers to change travel dates free of charge as many times as they wish, up to seven days before departure. This flexible booking policy is available on all bookings made up to 30 September 2022.

The United States to the forefront

After 18 months of travel restrictions Aer Lingus is anticipating strong customer demand for travel to and from the United States and will have 20 connections from Italy with stopovers in Dublin, to destinations such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington, Seattle and Orlando, costing from €179 each way, including taxes and charges. 

Increasing short-haul capacity

In Europe Aer Lingus will progressively increase short-haul capacity by next summer up to a total of 50 European routes, connecting Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Naples, Pisa, Rome Leonardo Da Vinci, Venice and Verona with Dublin on flights starting from €63,99 (from May to September 2022) each way, taxes and charges included.

Linking Ireland to the world again  

"The ambitious summer 2022 schedule, which connects Ireland to the world, is an important step for the airline and for the country,” said Reid Moody, the carrier’s Chief Strategy and Planning Officer. We are confident there will be an increase in travel demand next year and this is why we have announced an extended summer programme. We guarantee the continuous application of our measures to safeguard health and safety, from check-in to boarding and on board the aircraft, and we are also pleased to announce the extension of our Book with Confidence offer allowing customers to change travel dates for free up to seven days before departure.”   

Icelandic low-cost airline Play will introduce its first Italian destination starting on 7 June 2022 with two weekly frequencies (Tuesdays and Saturdays) to Bologna from Reykjavik's Keflavík International Airport. This new service for Bologna’s Marconi Airport joins three other new destinations that the Icelandic airline will launch next summer:  Stuttgart also in June, Prague and Lisbon starting in May.

New aircraft and North American routes planned for next year 

"These four new destinations will strengthen Play's operations and make Iceland a more user-friendly destination for travelers," said the carrier's CEO, Birgir Jónsson. We are confident that these destinations will boost our operations and that our flights between Iceland and these cities will be popular with locals.” Play started its operations last June and is based at Reykjavik's Keflavík International Airport. Currently the fleet consists of three Airbus A321neos, and next spring new aircraft will arrive before the airline introduces long-haul flights to North America.

The United States has reopened its borders, allowing free travel from the EU to the US without any particular restrictions, provided passengers are vaccinated and have a swab within three days of boarding. Aeroporti di Roma, operator of Rome’s two airports, together with the airlines that operate direct flights between the US and Rome’s international Fiumicino Airport, is celebrating this important moment for the resumption of Atlantic air traffic.

Tickets are already on sale for summer 2022

Currently there are up to four daily direct flights between Fiumicino and the US, with Delta Air Lines operating on New York JFK and Atlanta, United on Newark, and ITA Airways on New York JFK.  And more frequencies are slated from December. For summer 2022 additional routes operated by these carriers have been put on sale, and American Airlines flights are set to resume. The United States represents the main long-haul market to and from Rome Fiumicino and the 5th international market overall after Spain, France, the UK and Germany. In 2019, before the pandemic, almost 2.8 million passengers flew to/from Rome Fiumicino with direct connections on 13 US airports, a 7.5% growth over 2018.

“A first step towards restarting our economies”

"The reopening of US borders for vaccinated tourists and travelers from the European Union - declared Ivan Bassato, Aviation Operations Director Aeroporti di Roma - is a very positive and hopeful sign for the future. The pandemic has hit all sectors hard, especially air transport which is struggling to return to normal. After a year and a half during which air travel stalled at unprecedented levels, the US administration's decision is a real boost for the aviation sector and a first step towards restarting our economies.”

The countdown has started for the return of Cathay Pacific to Italian skies after the forced suspension due to the pandemic. "We’re returning to Milan Malpensa with a new aircraft - the A350-1000 - which will take off from this airport for the first time, and coincides with company's 75th anniversary,” said Daniele Borgogna, sales & marketing manager Italy. The direct Italy-Hong Kong flights are due to start operating again, twice weekly, from 6 November. 

Flights to Fiumicino is still on standby 

The flight to Milan (flights to Rome Fiumicino are still on standby Ed) will be added to European flights already operating again to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam Paris CDG and Madrid.

Passengers flying beyond Hong Kong are around 60%

“We are optimistic about the reopening of other strategic destinations, and with regard to connecting flights beyond Hong Kong like the Philippines, we hope to see the return of others soon. The share of passengers flying beyond our Hong Kong hub is always significant, standing at around 60%.”

Our CxAgents portal is available for travel agents

The contribution of the trade to the airline’s sales on the Italian market is also significant. “They represent most of our sales in Italy; our dedicated portal, CxAgents is available to travel agents.”

EasyJet is boosting its Italian network with the introduction of 8 new international routes which are already on sale through the carrier's distribution channels. The new routes include, from 1 December and throughout the winter season, Milan Linate to Berlin Brandenburg daily; Milan’s Linate city airport to Amsterdam which doubles to two frequencies per day, and routes to Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly as well as to London Gatwick. A new daily Milan Malpensa to Porto route joins the one already on sale and will start on February 20.

New Father Christmas flights to Rovaniemi

In view of the Christmas holidays from 19 December the company will operate the new Milan Malpensa-Rovaniemi route twice weekly. Flights have also started from Brussels National Airport to Naples, Catania and Palermo, and from the Sicilian airports there will also be services to Zurich. In addition, capacity to and from Sardinia will be enhanced by boosting frquencies on the Milan Bergamo-Olbia starting from 17 December.

Twice weekly flights to Sharm el Sheikh

There are already flights from Naples to Tel Aviv and, starting from 31 October, also to Tenerife, from both of which there are also flights to Milan Malpensa. In addition starting on 31 October from Venice’s Marco Polo airport, and from 3 November from Naples Capodichino, there will be twice weekly flights to Sharm el Sheikh.

“We are working to integrate the leisure and business sectors in such a way that the competitive value of our company is evenly distributed and becomes a value for everyone. We want to pass on the levels of trust and reliability in our company to our customers, and the intermediation of travel agents is crucial,” said Pietro Diamantini, High Speed Business Director Trenitalia

High Speed in Europe, and a new International Business Unit

The recovery of the domestic market post-Covid is picking up and Trenitalia has many interests on foreign markets. In Spain there is company for high speed, in Great Britain regional and Intercity services as well as high speed as in Switzerland and Germany, and soon Greece too will have high-speed trains. “Given our many international interests a new business unit has just been set up. The International Business Unit is our fourth, after High Speed, Intercity and Regional, and will coordinate Trenitalia's international interests.”

Intercity trains. Connecting provincial capitals and main cities

Intercity is a public service for the Ministry of Transport, operating medium and long-distance routes that connect all the provincial capitals and main Italian cities,” said Business Intercity Director Domenico Scida  “The Intercity has a dual function, first as a commuter service and in recent years growing in importance in the leisure sector.”

Back to 70% of pre-Covid traffic levels  

“In the summer of 2021, with the recovery of tourism post–Covid, we worked together with holiday destinations and there was strong demand for the Adriatic, the South and Sicily. We operate 130 connections a day across Italy. The domestic market has picked up, and in terms of passengers we are now approaching 70% of pre-Covid traffic. 

Improving the quality of the rolling stock

“We have plans to improve the quality of the rolling stock and services on board. Intercity has two products: day and night, the latter with berths as well as seats.  By the end of the year all Intercity day trains will have places to carry bicycles and vending machines for food and beverages.”

“In Italy the regional train is the true protagonist of mobility” 

“In the last two years the true protagonist has been the regional train,” said Regional Business Director Sabrina De Filippis.  “Almost 50% of our trains are new, with high-quality services increasingly aimed at local tourism. The summer of 2021 was exceptional with a 20-30% increase in demand over 2020, which had already gone well.    Now we are working on new pricings aimed at families, friends and couples.

Train+bus services and new pricing 

Last year the Regional Business Unit took agency sales from 3% to over 12%.”Our big dream is to see our regional services in all tour operator packages”, continued De Filippis. “The regional train is the true protagonist of mobility, and where we do not reach by train we have local partnerships that allow our passengers to conclude their journey by bus to smaller localities. Visitors already know the Frecciarossa. Through our travel agent partners we want to get the message across that our regional trains are the best way to get from one end of the country to the other.”

With 8 November confirmed as the first day for the entry of vaccinated international travelers to the United States, La Compagnie has announced its winter schedule. The network of the all-business carrier includes flights from New York to Italy, with its debut on the Milan Malpensa route. This is scheduled for 13 April 2022 with La Compagnie operating four weekly New York Newark-Milan flights.

Flights from Tel Aviv, Paris and Nice to the Big Apple

Also confirmed are the two weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Newark International Airport starting 4 December, flights between the Big Apple and Paris Orly which will be daily starting in November 2021, and three weekly seasonal flights from New York to Nice which will resume on 7 May 2022.  

Changes and reimbursements up to 24 hours before departure.

“Our team is prepared and ready to implement what we have been planning for in recent months,” said Christian Vernet, President La Compagnie.  “Using all our capacity to expand our horizons is not only essential but relevant when it comes to meeting the expected increase in demand on both the leisure and business markets.”  

In consideration of the period still marked by uncertainty at various levels La Compagnie guarantees 100% flex rates, which can be changed and reimbursed at no cost, up to 24 hours before departure.