Air Malta has signed a broad new codeshare agreement with Alitalia successor ITA Airways. The new partnership is effective October 31st, 2021 and will offer guests of both airlines enhanced connectivity via ITA’s Rome hub and Air Malta’s hub in Luqa, Malta.
On Thursday (October 28, 2021), Air Malta announced the launch of a new comprehensive codeshare agreement with Alitalia successor ITA Airways. The new partnership is effective October 31st, 2021 and will offer guests of both airlines more connectivity via ITA’s hub in Rome and Air Malta’s Luqa, Malta hub. Customers will now be able to fly seamlessly between the networks of both carriers on a single ticket with convenient origin and destination luggage transfer. Under the new agreement, ITA will place their ‘AZ’ code on all flights operated by Air Malta between Malta and Italy. Likewise, Air Malta will codeshare AZ flights between Malta and Rome, with seamless onward Italian domestic and select international connections via Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate.
In Thursday’s announcement, Air Malta’s Chief Commercial Officer, Roy Kinnear, said,
“We are very excited with this new code-share agreement that connects us to a wide selection of airports in Italy and beyond. Italy is one of Air Malta’s most important markets and this agreement will enhance our reach in the Italian market. We intend to continue working and increase our cooperation with ITA Airways to bring more benefits to our customers.”
Also commenting on the new partnership, ITA Airways’ Chief of Network, Fleet and Alliances, Andrea Benassi, said,
“We are very pleased with this code share agreement with Air Malta. ITA Airways is seeking valuable partnerships to support this important start up period and this agreement goes in the right direction. ITA Airways aims at becoming an efficient and innovative air carrier that will be a reference point in providing Italy with quality connectivity with international destinations, thus boosting tourism and foreign trade. This cooperation agreement provides our passengers with the best travel experience when flying to an increasingly larger number of destinations and significantly enlarges our presence in Malta, a key market which presents great growth opportunities for the Company.”
Founded in 1974, Air Malta is the airline of the Maltese Islands and typically serves 35 destinations across Europe and the Mediterranean. The carrier operates a fleet of four Airbus A320neos and three Airbus A320neos, and has transported over 55 million guests to and from the Maltese Islands since their founding.
Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA Airways) was founded in November 2020 and is the new Italian national carrier wholly-owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. ITA Airways currently operates 59 routes to 44 domestic and international destinations, and has plans to grow to 89 routes to 74 destinations by 2025. The carrier has a fleet of 45 standard body and seven widebody aircraft.
Source(s): Air Malta, ITA Airways