Alitalia-Etihad, first wedding rehearsals. Waiting to give life to the new aircraft model born from the merger of the two companies, today the Italian and United Arab Emirates airlines presented the two special aircraft with Expo Milano 2015 livery, which officially launch their co-sponsorship at the event global.
About 2015 million visitors are expected at Expo 1, which will be held in Milan from 31 May to 2015 October 20, over a third of whom will reach the Lombard capital by plane. Alitalia and Etihad Airways organized two simultaneous events: one at Milan Malpensa airport and another at Abu Dhabi airport, during which the two Airbus A330-200s were unveiled to guests and thousands of people from all over the world. the world followed the presentation online. Alitalia's A330-200 and Etihad Airways' A330-200, both with the special livery, will fly for the first time tomorrow, Tuesday 21 October, between Rome and Abu Dhabi, to bring the message of Expo to the whole world Milan 2015 "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life".
James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, commented “I am honored to launch our partnership with Alitalia for Expo 2015 in Milan and Abu Dhabi. From today, these two planes with their captivating livery will spread the important global message of Expo 2015 across all six continents”. The co-sponsorship for Expo 2015 is evidence of the growing collaboration between Alitalia and Etihad Airways and will play a key role in reaching Milan's goal of eight million visitors from abroad.
“I am sure that Expo 2015 will once again demonstrate the strength of tourism and travel in contributing to growth, the creation of new jobs and the support of economic development in Italy.” During Expo 2015, the frequencies of flights to and from Milan will be increased thanks to the new daily connections to Milan Malpensa from Abu Dhabi and Shanghai which will be introduced by Alitalia in the coming months, after approval by the European authorities, as well as the increase of numerous other domestic and international flights. These flights will connect with Etihad Airways' flights to the Middle East and its markets in the Indian Subcontinent, South East Asia and Africa. Alitalia and Etihad Airways will connect Milan to 560 direct and codeshare destinations worldwide.
