Summary
- ITA Airways is canceling its only route from Milan Malpensa Airport to Recent York since it is a loss-making route with low passenger numbers.
- The airline’s operations primarily deal with Rome Fiumicino Airport, where it may possibly effectively connect its domestic and international networks.
- Milan Malpensa has a big presence of low-cost carriers and intense competition, making it economically unsustainable for ITA Airways to ascertain a second hub there.
ITA Airways is ready to cancel the one route it operates from Milan Malpensa International Airport (MXP), serving Recent York John F. Kennedy (JFK) in January 2024. It will mark the top of ITA Airways’ presence on this airport, as the corporate doesn’t plan to open up a second hub, as an alternative specializing in its operations from Rome Fiumicino (FCO).
Scrapping Milan Malpensa’s only route
Milan Malpensa is Italy’s second most vital airport, only behind Rome Fiumicino, with 1,516 weekly departures (versus 2,454 from FCO). The airport has direct connectivity to 138 destinations across the globe but won’t have a presence in any respect from Italy’s flag carrier, ITA Airways.
Photo: Davide Calabresi | Shutterstock.
The flag carrier is closing down its only route from Milan Malpensa, an inherited service from Alitalia connecting to Recent York, effective January 8, 2024. In an announcement sent to Easy Flying, the corporate explained the choice,
ITA Airways will proceed to operate flights from Milan Linate Airport (LIN). Nonetheless, this airport has geographic restrictions, forcing the airline to operate routes shorter than 1,500 kilometers.
Why ITA Airways isn’t excited by Milan Malpensa?
In keeping with the commercial strategy plan outlined by ITA Airways, the corporate’s operations are based within the Rome Fiumicino hub. That is the airline’s hub & spoke airport, from which it may possibly effectively apply its business model and offer connections to its entire network of domestic, international, and intercontinental destinations.
ITA Airways isn’t excited by adopting a second hub, similar to Milan Malpensa, because doing so the airline told Easy Flying.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying.
Moreover, Milan Malpensa is strongly characterised by a big presence of low-cost carriers. These corporations have developed an in depth network of domestic and international connections from MXP. Legacy international carriers also operate to and from MXP, with some, similar to Emirates, having fifth freedom rights. Emirates operates the nonstop Milan Malpensa-Recent York JFK route. the airline argued.
ITA Airways competed against American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Neos on the MXP-JFK route. Emirates has 31% of the seats offered, American has 24%, and ITA Airways has 12.3%.
Nonetheless, ITA Airways claimed it is prepared to contemplate any useful evaluation for maintaining its presence in Milan Malpensa to discover recent opportunities and synergies, which could end in the airline taking a step back and developing recent plans for the world.
Flights from Milan Linate
ITA Airways operates 515 weekly flights from Milan Linate, serving 19 destinations as of December 2023. Ten of those are domestic destinations, with the corporate serving a few of the predominant Italian cities similar to Rome, Cagliari, Catania, Palermo, and Naples. In total, ITA Airways offers 365 weekly domestic departures from LIN.
The remaining are short-haul international flights to European destinations similar to Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Brussels, and Stuttgart. It offers 150 weekly flights.
Do you think that ITA Airways should consider Milan Malpensa as a second potential hub? Tell us within the comments below.