Italy is a land of further investments for United Airlines, starting with the new New York- Palermo flights from 21 May, but with projects that extend to 2026.
“Italy’s positioning is almost podium level”
“This is currently just a personal feeling,- says Walter Cianciusi, Italy sales manager, - but I would certainly still bet on Italy, whose positioning - and this is certain - is almost podium-level. In recent years it has risen a lot in the ranking of the most important markets for United Airlines, with Fiumicino increasingly taking on the role of a hub for Southern Europe.”
The challenge in 2025 comes with several new developments…
“Yes, it does, like the launch of the New York-Palermo route, with three weekly flights from 21 May, then it will be Washington to Venice, and the new route from Denver to Rome, a seasonal flight that joins the other six already operating on Fiumicino. This is the fourth airport in Europe connected to Denver, after London, Frankfurt and Munich: a choice that once again underscores the value of the Italian market for United.”
What will be the increase in capacity in 2025?
“Italy, as I said, is a very important market and Rome in particular. In summer 2025 we will be operating out of five different airports - unique for United - with up to 14 non-stop flights a day between the United State and Italy. This means the annual capacity will increase by more than 13% compared to 2024. Rome will see an increase of 9%, which at the peak of the summer, will rise to 18%; from Naples we will increase by 10% and from Venice by 77%, while the capacity from Milan Malpensa will remain unchanged. In addition, the airline's vast network will be available to Italian passengers once they reach the USA. For example, we will be offering passengers from Palermo over 61 connecting destinations from Newark, with 86 for those arriving on flights from Naples, for a total of 208 connecting flights from Rome.”
2025 is also the year of the Jubilee: will this affect United?
“In general, the US component dominates on our flights and this figure is likely to increase this year.”
Premium demand is constantly increasing, is this also the case for you?
“Definitely. While pure corporate travel is still a little slow to recover compared to pre-Covid levels, leisure passengers travelling in business are filling this small gap. They are demanding clients, who sometimes use their miles to travel in our Polaris. An incentive to purchase this class also comes from the sales strategy that allows upgrades up to two hours before the flight.” The big news for United will be the arrival of the A321 XLRs, which will change the face of the fleet starting in 2026 as they progressively replace the older B757s as well as some 767s. “Another service innovation is the agreement with Starlink for fast Internet connection on board our aircraft. After a test stage this spring on the Embraer 175, it will be available on the main fleet by the end of the year and on the entire fleet by 2026.”
