ITA Airways has announced plans to fly between Rome and Dubai this winter.
The new nonstop service will launch on 27 October, departing Rome Fiumicino at 1040 and arriving into Dubai at 1950, before returning at 0150 and landing back into Rome at 0600.
The route will be served by the carrier’s new A321neo aircraft, which features 12 fully flat seats in business class, 12 seats in premium economy and 141 in economy (including 12 Comfort Economy seats).
ITA currently has five of the narrowbody aircraft in its fleet, having recently taken delivery of four Airbus aircraft in one week in April.
The airline will be competing directly with Emirates on the Dubai International-Rome Fiumicino route – ITA recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Gulf carrier to expand their existing interline agreement into a full codeshare partnership.
The announcement follows the inauguration of ITA’s flights to Chicago in April and Toronto in May – the carrier will also launch new routes to Riyadh on 2 June, Accra on 6 June, Dakar and Kuwait City in July and Jeddah in August.
Commenting on the news Antonino Turicchi, president of ITA Airways, said:
“The opening of this new Rome – Dubai flight represents a further step forward in our Company’s growth.
“In the first four months of 2024, we recorded positive results, even beyond expectations. We carried over five million passengers, a 29 per cent increase versus last year, and generated 38 per cent more revenue compared to the same period in 2023 thanks to the performance of the intercontinental sector, which reported revenue growth of more than 50 per cent compared to the first four months of 2023.
“Our average load factor reached 78 per cent, 3.6 percentage points higher than last year, with peaks of 82 per cent in the intercontinental segment, a result that more than compensated for a slight reduction in average prices.
“The data is also encouraging for the summer season, when we are expecting a 25 per cent increase in carried passenger numbers compared to last year.
“From January to April 2024, our operations maintained a 99.9 per cent regularity and achieved an approximate 85 per cent on-time arrival rate within 15 minutes.
“These achievements enable us to invest in the Company’s development towards two main objectives: to establish ourselves as a key player in air transport and in the national economy, and providing Italy with a carrier with solid prospects.
“Thanks to the connection between Rome and Dubai we aim at enhancing tourism and trade between Italy and the United Arab Emirates.”