Italian carrier Alitalia is set to launch its first new long-haul routes since the company was saved from bankruptcy by Etihad Airways.
Alitalia will begin flying from Venice to Etihad’s home airport of Abu Dhabi from this Sunday (March 29), and will also add a new flight from Milan Malpensa to Abu Dhabi on the same date. Both services will operate daily and are in addition to the existing Rome-Abu Dhabi route.
Etihad will codeshare on both services and the move means that there will be 42 Alitalia flights per week between Italy and Abu Dhabi.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline now owns a 49 per cent stake in Alitalia after investing €560 million in the struggling Italian airline last year.
Alitalia chairman Luca di Montezemolo 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.”