Air Italy has opened up their summer schedule for 2020. Next year, the airline will continue to serve several key points in North America, Africa, and Italy. The plan is to target leisure travelers from high-demand cities to major leisure destinations in Africa and Europe. However, Air Italy is not adding any additional routes in the summer of 2020.
Air Italy Summer 2020
According to an Air Italy press release, Air Italy will be operating flights to the following destinations in North America. Below are the destinations along with frequencies:
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Route |
Weekly Frequency |
Annual Frequency |
|---|
All of the above routes operate from Milan Malpensa Airport, Air Italy's main hub. Each route is positioned to take a slice of origin and destination passengers in addition to connecting traffic. Ultimately, with these routes, Air Italy is focusing on profitable long-haul services using A330-200 aircraft.
In addition, COO Rossen Dimitrov had the following to say about this summer schedule:
"This demonstrates our commitment to both the domestic and international market, our network strategy, and our desire to enhance the travel experience for our passengers once more, through early planning opportunities and continued service to our popular destinations"
Other routes
In summer 2020, Air Italy will also fly internationally to Cairo, Dakar, Accra, Lagos, and Sharm El Sheikh. Domestically, passengers can fly to Rome, Naples, Palermo, Catania, Lamezia Terme, Cagliari, and Olbia. These short-haul routes will likely be flown by Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, assuming that the worldwide grounding is lifted by then.
No new routes for Air Italy
Previously, Air Italy intended to launch two new North American routes for the summer of 2020. In addition, either San Francisco or Los Angeles was to be converted to a year-round route. Based on this announcement, neither of those possibilities are coming to fruition. Instead, Air Italy is pursuing a safe summer schedule. As of now, there are no new routes to either Asia or North America scheduled on Air Italy metal.
The 'Big Three' spat
Air Italy has been a point of contention with the 'Big Three' U.S. carriers. Delta, American, and United believe that Air Italy is being used by Qatar Airways to violate an Open Skies agreement. The current U.S. government has been friendly to these claims.
Unfortunately for Air Italy, this led to a very long delay on a flight out of San Francisco. Recently, the European Commission stepped in in favor of Air Italy. Thus, it seems that Air Italy has some serious support and will maintain their routes to North America.
Had Air Italy announced any new routes to North America, it is likely that the announcement would have ruffled some more feathers at the three major American airlines. Not too long ago, Air Italy and Alaska Airlines entered a partnership on several key routes that provide additional connection opportunities for passengers. Air Italy was searching for an American carrier to partner with. Now, the real question is if Air Italy will launch new flights to the United States. For example, Seattle could be the next major market Air Italy connects Milan with.
Onboard
Air Italy's A330-200 aircraft feature 252 seats in a two-class configuration. These include 24 business class seats and 228 economy class seats. Business class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with angle-flat seats.
These A330-200s are former Qatar Airways aircraft. Consequently, much of the interior design draws heavily from Qatar's color palette.
Previously, Air Italy was to take new 787 aircraft for long-haul operations. As a result of 787 delivery delays, Air Italy will maintain its A330 fleet.
Overall
Air Italy is maintaining its summer frequencies in 2020. Currently, no new routes have been announced or scheduled. Although, with summer 2020 a fair time away, Air Italy could announce new destinations if they can get it to work operationally.
As a result of Air Italy's new partnership with Alaska Airlines, Air Italy will likely seek to expand into the United States. Undoubtedly, this will ruffle some feathers in the ongoing dispute with the 'Big Three'. For now, Air Italy is more focused on profitability than expansion.
What do you make of Air Italy's summer schedule? Do you think they will add new routes? Let us know in the comments!