Emirates announces thrice-daily Milan service

Emirates is driving forward its operations in Europe by announcing a third daily flight to Milan from June 1, taking the number of weekly flights offered to Italy to 49.“Our European network is growing stronger and stronger and a number of important developments are taking place in Italy,” said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ senior vice-president of commercial operations for Europe and the Russian Federation. “This is another significant investment in the Italian market and we look forward to offering further choice and excellent value for money to travellers and businesses, including the cargo community.”The extra A330-200 flight brings an additional 15 tonnes of daily cargo capacity to an already active cargo route.“Emirates’ announcement of its third daily flight from Dubai to Malpensa represents the importance of the airport to the airline’s European network,” said Giuseppe Bonomi, president of Sea, an airport management company.“The increase in the number of flights was made possible by the development of facilities and services dedicated to Emirates into the airport by Sea, contributing to the extraordinary quality of services the company offers to its passengers.”The latest expansion in Italy comes after news that the airline’s Venice flight would go twice daily from March 25. Launched in 2007, the Venice service remains the only non-stop passenger flight to and from Dubai.Italy was also the first country in Emirates’ southern European network to be selected for an A380 service. A 489-seat double decker was deployed on the Rome route from December 1, 2011.In February 2010, Emirates signed a five year, Dh288 million ($78 million) shirt sponsorship deal with AC Milan, part of a Dh16.8 billion ($4.6 billion) trade relationship between Italy and the UAE.“We are creating and supporting jobs in the travel industry and many other related sectors, while opening up new markets to importers and exporters,” Obaidalla added.