Alitalia begins services to Abu Dhabi

Alitalia, Italy's flag carrier, has begun direct services from Rome to Abu Dhabi.

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.

James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer 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. We look forward to further developing our relationship and exploring more codeshare opportunities in the future.”