Milan is one of the most well-connected and easily accessible cities in the world. We take a closer look at the Italian aviation market, ahead of the country hosting World Routes 2020.
Andrea Tucci is the vice president aviation business development at SEA Milan Airports. The SEA Group manages Milan’s Malpensa and Linate airports, and will host World Routes in 2020.
Athens, Manchester and Milan could be set for new routes to China if the latest applications to the Civil Aviation Administration of China are given the green light.
Eastern Airways adds three new routes from Rodez Aveyron Airport, in southwest France. The city is the capital of the Aveyron department, which is believed by many to be one of France’s best kept picturesque secrets, located in the north east of the Midi-Pyrenees region between the foothills of the Massif Central and the plains of the south west.
Bergamo's Orio al Serio International Airport, or Il Caravaggio International Airport as it is alternatively known, has been a popular Milan alternative gateway for low-cost carriers. However, it is now developing a market in its own right and attracting a wide range of airlines.
For business travellers, a growing segment of easyJet’s passenger count, the new bases will enable the carrier to better serve the demands of its premium passengers in Barcelona and Venice with new earlier morning departures affording a more flexible schedule for same day trip arrangements to Europe’s main economic centres.
Ryanair will initially position a single Boeing 737-800 at Milan Malpensa from December 1, 2015, its 15th base in Italy. The new resource will enable the carrier to introduce a twice daily link to London Stansted and daily operation to Comiso as well as a four times weekly service to Bucharest and three times weekly offering to Seville during the winter 2015/2016 schedule.
Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport was actually easyJet's first destination outside of the UK back in 1996 but it has taken almost 20 years for the carrier to decide to establish a base operation having served the airport from its other European bases.
easyJet will open the new base at Venice Marco Polo Airport from April 2016 with four Airbus aircraft stationed at the airport. The Italian city has for some time been a key network point for easyJet, having operated flights into and out of the city since 1998. It will also introduce three more aircraft at Milan Malpensa and a fourth jet at Naples.
Italian national airline, Alitalia presented a new non-stop service between Milan and Shanghai earlier this week, marking a further stage in the development of the airline’s Asian connections.
The start-up will inaugurate flights on April 2, 2015 with a three times weekly links to Budapest and Prague, while three times weekly flights to the Italian destinations of Milan and Rome will follow from April 3, 2015.
The latest development builds on Flybe's growing network of bases, including Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Manchester and Southampton, showing the airline's commitment to improving connectivity across and from the UK.
Turkish airline, SunExpress has recently announced its plans for a total of 21 new routes for the summer 2015 season, with departures mainly from Antalya, Dalaman, Izmir and Konya.
The airline, part of the Lufthansa Group, has been forced to cancel a number of its domestic and European short-haul routes as a result of the walkout by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union which has failed to reach an agreement on working contracts for its members with the Lufthansa Group.
Ryanair initially announced it would fly from Copenhagen – Milan Bergamo and Warsaw Modlin daily, as well as from Copenhagen – London Luton twice daily; increasing to three times daily from October 25, 2015, but has since announced a further four routes for later this year, including Madrid, Rome, Brussels and Stockholm.
Starting in September 2015, Wizz air will base one of its Airbus A320 aircraft at the airport, initially bringing 30 direct jobs and two new routes to both Milan Bergamo in Italy, and Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport in the UK.
The Alitalia network will be one of the main pillars of the new strategy alongside Cooperation, Fleet, Guest Service and Brand with a new three-hub strategy in Italy being introduced.
The new route strategy into Italy will see airberlin introduce a new daily service from Stuttgart to Rome from March 29, 2015, operated by an Airbus A320, as well as a 17 times weekly, up to three times daily link from Stuttgart to Milan Linate from May 2015, flown by a Bombardier Dash 8-Q400. In addition, starting the same month, airberlin will expand its service on the existing Stuttgart to Venice route to a daily summer schedule.
A recent social media report by ACI Europe shows the ways in which European airports are using social media to communicate with their customers. We’ve broken the report down to analyse each social media platform separately, and add some of our own insights.
