Summary
- ITA Airways is celebrating the launch of a brand new route connecting London City Airport with Milan’s Linate airport, using its smallest aircraft, the A220-100.
- Milan was one among the top-performing routes from London City, attracting each corporate and leisure travelers.
- ITA Airways is boosting its network and considering connecting London City with Rome Fiumicino to extend connectivity from its primary hub.
The flag carrier of Italy is celebrating a linking the center of London with Milan. ITA Airways is bringing the smallest aircraft in its fleet to London City Airport, connecting it with Milan’s Linate thrice each day.
Ideal for an Airbus.
The route began this month and can increase to 4 each day frequencies in January. The arrival of the airline’s latest Airbus A220-100, named after Fiona May, was a critical think about the arrival of the route. The A220-100 is the smallest jetliner currently produced by Airbus, making it highly appropriate for flying to London City Airport (LCY), where operating conditions require the usage of smaller aircraft and special certifications.
Milan was previously one among the highest five performing routes from London City, with Linate Airport (LIN) being the closest airport to town center. While the route has traditionally been focused on corporate travelers, the airline is seeing a marked growth in leisure traffic, with people finding LCY a convenient departure point for a weekend away or a brief break. Andrew Bunn, Country Manager for the UK, Ireland & Nordics at ITA Airways, sat down exclusively with Easy Flying to discuss how the plane is ideal for the downtown airport:
“So far as we’re concerned within the UK, it’s the right aircraft for London City. So it gives us slightly little bit of flexibility not only on Milan, but in addition by way of what future developments we would intend to make, you already know, it allows a little bit of slightly little bit of growth in that respect.”
Photo: ITA Airways
The arrival of the brand new flights supplements ITA Airways’ offering to the UK. The carrier already offers 28 weekly round-trip flights from London Heathrow to its two hubs: Rome Fiumicino (FCO) and Milan Linate.
Where is next on the map?
ITA Airways has been expanding its network and increasing capability because it receives latest aircraft at the speed of around three per 30 days. With its all-Airbus fleet of 88 aircraft, the carrier has introduced several latest routes from Rome because it seeks to enhance connectivity. Over the winter season, ITA will operate to 52 destinations worldwide.
Latest routes for the season include an Airbus A330 link to Rio de Janeiro and a seasonal service to Malè within the Maldives. North America is the carrier’s most important international market, with ITA adding flights to Chicago and Toronto for 2024. Domestically, the airline serves 17 cities, along with a big number of regional destinations.
When asked about future route expansion plans, Pierfrancesco Carino, VP of International Sales at ITA Airways, said that the carrier was “evaluating” connecting London City to its predominant hub at Rome Fiumicino, which might open up an excellent larger catchment area across the East of England to hook up with ITA’s intercontinental destinations.
Along with the upcoming North American route launches, the SkyTeam carrier has confirmed it should link Jeddah (JED), Riyadh (RUH), and Kuwait (KWI) within the Middle East and Africa’s Accra (ACC) and Dakar (DSS) next yr.
From January to October of this yr, the carrier flew 11 million passengers across its network. Planes are also fuller than this time last yr, with load aspects reaching 80%, up 7.5%. For next yr, the airline is targeting a fleet of 96 aircraft, two-thirds of which will probably be efficient next-generation models.