ITA Airways Focuses On North American Market With New Rome To Toronto Flight

ITA Airways

is gearing up to launch its

Rome Fiumicino Airport

to

Toronto Pearson International Airport

flight slated to begin on May 10. The service is a testament to the airline’s growing focus on North America. It marks its first direct entry route into Canada and follows its recent Chicago service launch.

The new Toronto route

ITA Airways will begin services to Canada’s largest and most populated city on May 10. Flights will initially operate six times a week with its Airbus A330 fleet, increasing to daily during the busy summer months between June and September.

ITA Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer Emiliana Limosani emphasized the importance of the route, saying that it “represents for ITA Airways a major product, which enhances the connections offered from North America, the first market after Italy.”

Focusing on North America is a key characteristic of the airline’s Summer 2024 season development. In October, Limosani said:

“There are important plans to expand the intercontinental network also in the summer of 2024, with focus on North America. In April, we will open the nonstop flight to Chicago and in May we will fly to Canada with the new Toronto direct route. Both destinations will be operated from Rome Fiumicino. This will be achieved thanks to the continuous renewal of our fleet, which will also see the entry of the new Airbus A321neo and A220-100, both latest-generation aircraft.”

The Airbus A330s

A mix of Airbus A330-200s and Airbus A330-900neos will operate the new Toronto route. The latter are much newer and feature an “exceptional travel experience” in a three-class layout comprising 237 economy class seats in a 2-4-2 layout, 24 premium economy seats in a 2-4-2 layout, and 30 business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout.

The older Airbus A330-200s, which will operate certain frequencies, feature 219 seats in economy class in a 2-4-2 layout, 17 premium economy seats in a 2-3-2 layout, and 20 business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout.

Photo: The Global Guy | Shutterstock

Ch-aviation data shows seven Airbus A330-200 aircraft in the ITA Airways fleet, with an average age of 12.6 years. The Airbus A330-900 fleet is larger, with nine presently in service and a further eight on order. Given that they were only recently inducted, the aircraft have an average age of just five months. Two A330-900neos are expected next month in time for the summer season.

A focus on North America

As tense discussions in Brussels continue to take place regarding the airline’s planned merger into the Lufthansa Group, ITA Airways is continuing its expansion transatlantically.

Lufthansa wants to purchase a 41% stake in the carrier, eventually taking complete control. The European Union’s antitrust authority has expressed competition concerns related to a number of the airline’s routes, particularly those to North America.

However, long-haul flights are a much-needed financial escape with a domestic market crowded by European low-cost airlines, including Ryanair, Wizz Air, Volotea, and easyJet. Hoping to avoid the heavy losses incurred by its predecessor, Alitalia, the new Italian flag carrier, has shifted focus to new routes and fleet renewal.

Photo:  SimoneAmi | Shutterstock

Yet the European Commission believes that should the merger be approved, Lufthansa and ITA would virtually have a monopoly on transatlantic flights, either through direct services or one-stop connections (via Frankfurt, Munich, or Vienna, to name a few of the Lufthansa Group hubs).

The paradox, as Corriere della Sera describes it, is that by asking the two airlines to cut transatlantic services, Italy would be disadvantaged regarding transatlantic connectivity. Rather than providing additional, cheaper options for consumers, such a requirement from Brussels would have the opposite effect. There are not really any other (full-service) European airlines capable of flying between Italy and North America, meaning that one-stop flights would continue to be the go-to option.

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Corriere della Sera found that 55% of passengers trying to get between Italy and the USA already stop in another country as there simply aren’t enough direct flights. This is not necessarily a problem elsewhere in Europe, with sufficient capacity on offer from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, among others.

An alternative proposed by Lufthansa and ITA is to freeze fares on services to North America. Despite this, the European Commission is still not satisfied, Italian media report.

Let us know what you think about ITA Airways’ North American expansion in the comments below.