Etihad Airways, Alitalia expand codeshare with Rome-Abu Dhabi flights

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, and Alitalia, Italy's flag carrier, yesterday announced that direct Rome-Abu Dhabi flights would commence Dec. 1.
Subject to government approvals, Alitalia will operate the four weekly flights using an Airbus A330 aircraft in conjunction with codeshare partner Etihad Airways. The flights, with seating capacity for 230 passengers, will operate on a split schedule, ensuring maximum connectivity over Etihad Airways' Abu Dhabi hub.
Etihad Airways will place its EY code on the new Rome (Fiumicino) flights, providing travelers with direct access to the Italian capital from Abu Dhabi, building on the daily service it already operates to the northern Italian city of Milan.
In addition, Etihad Airways will codeshare on Alitalia operated flights beyond Rome to the cities of Venice and Zurich. The UAE flag carrier already codeshares on Alitalia-operated flights from Rome to Milan, Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva and Athens.
Alitalia will continue to place its AZ code on Etihad Airways flights from Abu Dhabi to Bahrain, Muscat, Johannesburg, Bangkok, Melbourne and Sydney.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways' president and CEO, said: "The ties between the UAE and Italy have never been stronger, and one of our key objectives all along was to provide our passengers with a direct service to Rome. We signed our initial codeshare with Alitalia back in December 2009, and it has been a great success.
Andrea Ragnetti, CEO of Alitalia, said: "I am proud to announce this important new route that Alitalia will operate from Dec. 1. The new Rome-Abu Dhabi route will allow both companies to offer their passengers a new direct service and in particular for Alitalia passengers from Rome, it will further open the doors to exceptional business and tourist destinations around the world on Etihad Airways' network."