Venice - Abu Dhabi is set to be the first new route to be launched by Alitalia since Etihad Airways' acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in the company.

The new route will be part of Alitalia's summer schedule, starting March 29.

The daily connection was presented to business leaders, media and other institutions in Venice today by Alitalia’s Chairman Luca di Montezemolo and CEO Silvano Cassano, together with Enrico Marchi, chairman of the SAVE Group – Venice Airport, and Peter Baumgartner, chief commercial officer of Etihad Airways, the strategic equity and codeshare partner of Alitalia, which has added its ‘EY’ code to the service.

Alitalia will reinforce its presence in Italy’s North Eastern airports with the new route, reaching a total of 89 weekly connections from Venice (64 flights) and Verona (25 flights). From Venice alone, Alitalia will offer approximately 600,000 seats on direct flights during the summer season for air transportation from March to October, including those on partner airlines, to Rome (Italy), Berlin, Dusseldorf (Germany), Paris (France), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Moscow (Russia) and Tirana (Albania).

The new connections with Abu Dhabi will strengthen Alitalia’s intercontinental offering, allowing passengers departing from North Eastern Italy to reach not just the UAE, but continue, thanks to Etihad Airways’ extensive global connections, to 30 destinations in the Middle East (Bahrain, Muscat, Kuwait, Dubai and Al Ain), Africa (Johannesburg, Nairobi and Khartoum), the Indian Subcontinent (Mumbai, Kochi, Delhi, Bangalore, Karachi, Lahore, Dacca, Malè, Seychelles and Colombo), Asia (Beijing, Seoul, Phuket, Chengdu, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta) and Australia (Melbourne, Sydney and Perth).

Luca di Montezemolo, chairman of Alitalia, said: “We have entered an extremely important phase in the development of Alitalia, with a focus on strengthening our route network in Europe and other key international destinations, such as Abu Dhabi, Seoul, Shanghai and Beijing. Venice was selected for our first new intercontinental flight due to its potential for attracting tourists from the Middle East and beyond, through the network of Etihad Airways, and will play an important role in our ambitious turnaround.”

Peter Baumgartner, chief commercial officer of Etihad Airways, said: “Through our codeshare agreement, Etihad Airways and Alitalia are providing travellers with unmatched depth and breadth into and out of Italy. The launch of Alitalia’s new route from Venice is another important step towards linking the country, not only to Abu Dhabi, but onwards to destinations across the Gulf region, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Asia and Australia. The market response has already been strong and we are delighted to codeshare on the flights.”

The Venice-Abu Dhabi flight will take off on March 29. Simultaneously, Alitalia will also launch a new flight from Milan Malpensa Airport to the capital of the UAE, tripling the number of its flights for Abu Dhabi, which will reach a total of 42 weekly flights. – TradeArabia News Service