Emirates, a leading airline company in the region, will launch direct services between Milan and New York, the carrier’s only trans-Atlantic service, starting October 1.

Operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, the flight will be an extension of one of Emirates’ existing three daily, Dubai to Milan flights. The service will originate in the emirate with a stopover in Milan en-route to New York, a statement from the company said.

On the return flight, passengers will have the option of stopping in Milan before continuing on to Dubai.  This one-stop service has proved popular on other Emirates’ routes, giving passengers the opportunity to experience a new destination or to break their journey on longer trips.

“Operating a trans-Atlantic route has been on our agenda for some time. Having carefully monitored traffic flows we have identified strong demand for both a direct connection and, importantly, for the Emirates product.  The route is currently underserved, particularly with a strong premium product offering this is where we see a clear opening for Emirates. We intend to capitalise on this opportunity, stimulating further demand and encouraging additional traffic flow in both directions,” said Tim Clark, president of Emirates.

In addition to the existing passenger market between Milan and New York, Emirates has timed its flight schedule to ensure maximum connectivity for other key feeder markets. Customers looking to fly on the airline’s award-winning product will be able to seamlessly connect from points all over the US, including the West Coast, taking advantage of Emirates’ partnership with JetBlue, and across Europe, maximising the airline’s frequent flyer partnership with easyJet.

In addition to offering excellent connections for business travellers or people visiting friends and family, this new service is expected to be popular with leisure travellers who can take in the sights of multiple cities with one convenient air ticket, the statement said.

“This new route is the perfect marriage of two likeminded cities. Both destinations offer visitors a dynamic mix of culture and business and we are confident that this new service will not only facilitate travel in both directions, but will also create a greater exchange of business, trade and tourism,” added Clark.

The new service, an extension of Emirates three daily flights to Milan, will boost Emirates’ flights to New York to three daily.

“Since we launched services to New York in 2004, demand has grown steadily. We recently introduced a double daily A380 service on this route to meet the increased demand and now is the right time to launch an additional flight, operating via Milan. Not only do we see existing potential from expatriate traffic but we are also acutely aware of the business potential that can be tapped from the wider catchment areas, thanks to our convenient flight schedule,” Clark said.
 
Emirates will deploy its state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300ER on this route, offering eight seats in first class, 42 seats in business class and 310 seats in economy class. The aircraft will be equipped with Emirates’ award-winning ice system, offering over 1,400 channels of in-flight entertainment, as well gourmet chef-prepared meals.
 
Enac (the Italian Civil Aviation Authority) has authorised the services between Milan and New York on an extra-bilateral basis and Emirates is confident that over the next 18 months an evaluation will demonstrate significant economic benefits for the Italian economy, exporters, tourism and airports.
 
“We greatly appreciate the support of Enac and think it will have a very positive impact on the Italian air transport market and airports,” Clark said.
 
In addition to passenger services, Emirates SkyCargo will offer a total of 38 tonnes of freight capacity between both cities each day. – TradeArabia News Service