Etihad Airways and Alitalia to strengthen connections between UAE and Italy with major codeshare expansion

Etihad Airways and Alitalia 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, 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 29th, 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 March 29th, 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% stake in the Italian national carrier.