Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, welcomed the arrival of its equity and codeshare partner Alitalia’s inaugural flights from Venice and Milan to the to the UAE capital Abu Dhabi yesterday.

A traditional water cannon salute was arranged to mark the occasion, with Alitalia’s CEO Silvano Cassano and chief customer officer Aubrey Tiedt travelling on-board the inaugural flight from Venice, along with Enrico Marchi, chairman of the SAVE Group – Venice Airport.

The senior delegation was greeted on arrival by Bruno Matheu, Etihad Airways chief operating officer Equity Partners, and officials from Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC).

Peter Baumgartner, chief commercial officer of Etihad Airways, said: “Network development has been placed at the heart of Alitalia’s ambitious development strategy and we are delighted to codeshare on both of these new routes, which are the first to be launched by Alitalia since Etihad Airways acquired a 49 per cent stake in the airline.”

“The service between Milan and Abu Dhabi combines with our own daily flights between the two cities to provide a convenient double-daily frequency, while the Venice flights not only support inbound tourism, but are also an important new link to serve people in Northern Italy,” Baumgartner said.

“Together, Etihad Airways and Alitalia now offer combined double-daily flights to Milan and Rome, and a daily service to Venice. This is great news for our respective countries, as strong air transport links act as a catalyst for economic growth. It is also great news for travellers, not only between Italy and the UAE, but beyond. Abu Dhabi is a natural hub with a strategic location that connects Italy with destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent, Asia and Australia through the fast-growing Etihad Airways network,” he said.

Alitalia’s daily Venice – Abu Dhabi service is operated using an Airbus A330 aircraft with 20 business class seats, 17 economy plus seats and 213 economy class seats, while the airline’s daily Milan – Abu Dhabi service is operated using a Boeing 777 aircraft with 30 business class seats, 24 economy plus seats and 239 economy class seats. – TradeArabia News Service