Italian flag carrier Alitalia is to resume flights between Rome’s Fiumicino - Leonardo da Vinci Airport and Beijing’s Capital International Airport this summer having previously suspended its operations on the route in March 2013. The return to mainland China is part of a renewed focus on the Far East market to take advantage of growing demand and the strong traffic flows being lost to rivals, especially the Gulf carriers via their Middle East hubs.
Alitalia will offer a four times weekly service from July 18, 2016 departing the Italian capital every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and returning from Beijing the following day. The route will be served using a three-class, 250-seat Airbus A330 and will compete with the existing offering of Air China on the city pair.
The launch will mark the continuation of Alitalia’s long-haul expansion plan, following the start of new flights to Santiago on May 1, 2016 and Mexico City on June 16, 2016. Beijing will become the Italian national carrier’s third destination in the Far East, following Tokyo and Seoul. It previously served Beijing from Rome between June 2011 and March 2013, while flights were also offered between Shanghai and Milan, most recently between May and October 2015.
“We are committed to strengthen our presence in the Far East. The new route to Beijing represents a crucial investment for Alitalia as we continue to expand our network through increased long-haul flying to strategic markets”, said Cramer Ball, chief executive officer, Alitalia.
The European carrier currently handles traffic into China via the activities of its equity owner Etihad Airways via its Abu Dhabi International Airport hub. This provides one-stop options between Rome and Beijing, Shanghai and the secondary destination of Chengdu via the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The announcement of this new service has been well-received by the Italian business community in China, who lent their invaluable support during negotiations with the Chinese authorities. "We accompanied and supported negotiations for this flight during all stages. The important and desired opening of the new Alitalia’s Rome-Beijing service is the result of great Italian teamwork,” explained The Italian Ambassador to China, H E Ettore Sequi.
Around 300,000 passengers are now flying point-to-point between Italy and China every year, up from just 60,000 to 75,000 at the start of the decade. Since 2010 the market has grown at an average annual double-digit rates.
The Rome – Beijing city pair market has grown over the past ten years from around 50,000 O&D passengers to over 130,000 passengers last year. As the sole current provider of non-stop flights Air China is the dominant carrier in this market, but Emirates Airline has an increasing influence more than doubling annual traffic via Dubai from around 10,000 annual passengers in 2013 to over 20,000 in 2014 (a 17.7 percent share).
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