From left: Etihad Airways and Alitalia crew accompanied by Andrea Tucci, Alitalia Vice President Alliances & Network Agreements; Ali Majed Al Mansoori, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC); Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, UAE Minister for Foreign Trade; Giorgio Starace, Italian Ambassador to the UAE; and Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' Chief Commercial Officer. Alitalia, Italy's flag carrier has begun direct services from Rome to Abu Dhabi with a celebratory flight to the capital of the United Arab Emirates arriving Dec. 4. Flight AZ854 touched down at Abu Dhabi International Airport at 7.55pm local time and was greeted by a traditional water canon salute. Also greeting the flight Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, UAE Minister for Foreign Trade; Giorgio Starace, Italian Ambassador to the UAE; Ali Majed Al Mansoori, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC); and senior executives from Etihad Airways. Alitalia are operating the new flights in conjunction with codeshare partner Etihad Airways. The launch of the new direct Rome-Abu Dhabi service follows last August's announcement that the Italian carrier would fly four weekly return Airbus A330 services between the two capitals. Flights from Abu Dhabi depart at 8:15am on Thursdays and Sundays, and at 2:25am on Mondays and Wednesdays. Flights from Rome depart at 9:45pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 11:15am on Tuesdays and Sundays. The split schedule ensures maximum connectivity over Abu Dhabi International Airport – Etihad Airways' hub – to codeshare destinations such as Bahrain, Muscat, Johannesburg, Bangkok, Melbourne and Sydney. Equally, the new service will ensure efficient codeshare connectivity beyond Rome to the cities of Athens, Milan, Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva, Venice and Zurich. Sheikha Lubna said: “It is always a pleasure to see the relationship between the UAE and its friends growing into actual business ventures and economic cooperation. Alitalia's decision to come to Abu Dhabi demonstrates the capital's growing importance as a trade and tourism hub in the Middle East. Abu Dhabi is looking forward to further deepening such opportunities in ways which are beneficial to all parties.” James Hogan, President and CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “Today's flight is yet another positive milestone in our expanding partnership with Alitalia. It underscores our commitment to grow the partnership by providing this new and fantastic proposition for both airlines' business and leisure customers, giving them direct access to Rome and Abu Dhabi respectively, and beyond across both networks. In addition, it allows customers to earn and burn frequent flyer miles on both airlines' combined networks.” – SG
