Etihad, Alitalia to strengthen UAE and Italy connections

Partnership has developed into a commercial success: Hogan

Etihad Airways’ technical maintenance team celebrating the award. — Supplied photo

Abu Dhabi — Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, and Alitalia, Italy’s leading carrier, will offer enhanced connections between Abu Dhabi and three of Italy’s biggest cities next year, with combined double-daily flights to Milan and Rome, and a new daily service to Venice.

The two airlines signed a major codeshare expansion last week, which subject to government approval, will result in Etihad Airways placing its ‘EY’ code on Alitalia’s new daily service between Venice and Abu Dhabi.

The flights launch on March 29, 2015, using an Airbus A330-200 aircraft with 20 business class seats, 17 economy plus class seats, and 213 economy class seats.

In addition, the ‘EY’ code will be placed on Alitalia’s upcoming daily service between Abu Dhabi and the global fashion capital Milan, which also launches on 29 March 2015, and will be operated using a Boeing 777 aircraft with 30 seats in business class, 24 seats in economy plus class, and 239 seats in economy class. The flights will combine with Etihad Airways’ popular daily service between the two cities to provide travellers with a convenient double-daily frequency.

Both airlines already codeshare on each other’s daily services between Abu Dhabi and Rome, and subject to government approval, Etihad Airways will codeshare on 15 of Alitalia’s domestic routes from Rome Fiumicino Airport next year, offering extensive access to and from the country.

The codeshare agreement was expanded a week after Etihad Airways and Alitalia received merger clearance from the European Commission for a proposed strategic partnership, under which Etihad Airways will acquire a 49 per cent stake in the Italian national carrier.

James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said: “Our codeshare agreement with Alitalia was initiated over four years ago, and the partnership has developed into a resounding commercial success. Importantly, we are also providing business and leisure travellers with enhanced, and soon to be unmatched, depth and breadth into and out of Italy.”

The codeshare flights can be booked from November 28, 2014, on etihad.com, through Etihad Airways’ contact centres, or via travel agents, for travel on March 29, 2015 onwards.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways was named the ‘Airline of the Year’, ‘Cargo Operator of the Year (Commercial Airline)’ and ‘MRO Service Provider of the Year’ at the Aviation Business Awards 2014.

The awards celebrate achievements within the Middle East aviation industry. The awards come a week after Etihad Airways was named ‘Airline of the Year’ at the Arabian Business Achievement Awards 2014.

Etihad Airways sets new world record

Etihad Airways’ technical maintenance department has just set a new world record by replacing a GE90 engine on one of its Boeing 777 passenger aircraft in less than seven hours.

With an engine inlet cowling diameter of 3.4m, and overall length of 7.4m, the GE90 engine weighs approximately eight tonnes, and is capable of delivering an extraordinary 115,000 pounds of thrust – making it the largest and most powerful commercial aircraft engine in use today. The time taken to replace an aircraft engine is usually between 20 and 25 hours, which can cause significant operational disruption to flight schedules and ultimately reduce profitability.

The world record was achieved overnight at the Etihad Airways Light Maintenance facility by a team of 12 mechanics and engineers from the airline’s technical department, who have been looking at ways to enhance efficiency and minimise aircraft down times due to scheduled engine replacements. The previous world record for a GE90 aircraft engine change was set in 2009 by Brazilian airline, TAM, when it changed a similar engine in 14 hours. business@khaleejtimes.com