Air India is back: Starting direct flights to Delhi from Italy

ITALY (eTN) – Air India, which after 15 years of absence, is going to start offering direct links to Italy with seven weekly flights – four from New Delhi on a Milan – Malpensa route via Rome – Fiumicino, and three out of Malpensa. This will be a perfect rotation to serve North and Central-southern Italy with a potential market estimated at 160,000 passengers a year, and only on the Rome – New Delhi route, there is a capacity for 70,000 users.

The connections will be operated with the new B787 Dreamliner (for the first time in Fiumicino), configured in two classes – Business and Economy – for a total of 256 seats. Flights from New Delhi to Rome and Milan always take off at 1420 hours to land in the two Italian airports at 1015 the next day.

Said the CEO of Air India, Rohit Nandan, who came to Rome for the official presentation of the new service: “it is an important investment that should be added to those already operated on Frankfurt, Paris, and London. For our carrier began operating a season that includes a strong presence in Europe, as evidenced by the imminent opening of a new route, the New Delhi – Moscow.”

The entrance to the Star Alliance

Nandan has also stressed that the new course of Air India is also evidenced by the impending entry into the Star Alliance carrier as the 29th member of the broader air aggregation that exists today in international air transport. This is an ideal supplement to the policy of consolidation of the vector in the medium- and long-haul air carrier in the Asia-Pacific region, given the connections that Air India already operates in Kathmandu, Bangkok, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka, Sydney, and Melbourne.

“The new services on Italy,” said Nandan, “will allow us to apply the formula so far winning the basis of our recovery – offering travelers the best possible product at the best pricing conditions.”

The satisfaction of Italian tour operators
Satisfaction among the many Italian tour operators who participated in the official launch of flights to Rome – Cavalieri at the Waldorf Astoria, included Viaggi dell’ Elefante, King Holidays, Futurviaggi, and Metemozioni. All of them had been informed two months ago of the restoration of the Rome route and, although the season started, are organizing to set up the best package deals with the direct flight from Rome or Milan.

The CEO of ADR, Lorenzo Lo Presti, said: “This return of Air India consolidates its leadership in Fiumicino international and intercontinental [and is] our plus. The airport is also proceeding with expansion plans that will ensure short new points of embarkation, with a redevelopment made possible by the renewed program contracts that guarantee significant private investment.”

Fausto Palombelli, Development Director of Aviation Marketing, ADR, said “The presence of Air India offers a comprehensive long-haul airline that does Fiumicino a valuable working reference for many operators, both Italian and foreign.”