Etihad Airways building on Milan trade gains

Etihad Airways has celebrated five years of nonstop services between Milan and Abu Dhabi.
The UAE flag carrier operates daily between the two cities.
Flights from Milan commenced in September 2007, and based on strong forward bookings and projections, Etihad Airways is on track to carry almost 140,000 passengers between the two cities in 2012, up 27 percent on 2011.
Speaking at a media conference in Milan to mark the anniversary, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer James Hogan said: “The UAE is home to almost 7,000 Italians and 200 Italian companies, and as a result, the business and cultural ties between the two countries have never been stronger.”
Hogan added: “In five years, the Abu Dhabi-Milan route has gone from strength to strength, being a catalyst for business and leisure traffic between the two countries and the wider Gulf region. We’ve carried 417,000 passengers and 71,000 tons of cargo in that time.”
He said: “Our strategy here in Italy, as elsewhere internationally, has been built on the premise of partnerships and we’re proud to have teamed-up with many esteemed Italian names in the rollout of our award winning services.”
Etihad Airways has partnered with fashion designer Ettore Bilotta in the design of its crew uniforms and Poltrona Frau for the leather upholstery in its multi-award winning First Class Suites and luxury seating in the airline’s own signature premium lounges.
Elsewhere, Etihad Airways is commercially linked with another iconic Italian brand — Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.
The UAE carrier promotes and sells packages to the UAE leisure attraction through its global network including its contact centers, retail stores and partner travel agents.
In addition, the airline has recently extended its partnership with Alitalia which will see the Italian carrier operate four weekly codeshare services between Rome and Abu Dhabi from December 1, 2012.