TravTalk India Online Magazine
Italy’s flag carrier Alitalia recently organised a webinar for the Indian travel trade, where the team not only educated them on the airline’s product offerings but also shared plans to welcome travellers to Italy. Alitalia may begin its India operations in March this year, all the while ensuring a safe carriage for passengers.
Nisha Verma
The delegation at Alitalia’s webinar for the Indian travel trade included Aldo D’elia, Regional Manager, East Europe & Asia Pacific, Alitalia; Lucio Rigo, Country Manager– India, Alitalia; Salvatore Ianniello, Representative India, ENIT- Italian National Tourism Board; and Federico Scriboni, Head of Aviation Business Development, Aeroport Di Roma.
Addressing attendees, D’elia said, “Our trade partners are key for us. The pillar in the coming weeks would be flexibility and safety, which is our priority.” He also informed that Alitalia will soon be starting a flight to San Paolo and even has plans to start operations to Delhi. “We want to show the trade partners all the improvements that have been done at Aeroport Di Roma by organising a Fam trip,” he said.
Sharing details on the product, Rigo said, “Our plan is to start flying back to Delhi starting summer 2021, i.e. March, and the aircraft will be A330 with 250 seat capacity. We have a historical operating schedule, which is departing from Delhi at 3:05 am and arriving at 8:05 am in Rome Fiumicino, which is a very convenient schedule for network connection, both domestic and international. On the way back, it departs in the afternoon at 2:10 pm from Rome and arrives day after night at 1:15 am.”
He also informed that they have on offer charter flights as well on Boeing 777 and A330. “We have a dedicated charter team, too, and we are willing to discuss such operations with trade partners,” added Rigo.
While he shared information on the four types of commercial products, he also added that they have special programmes for corporates. “Also, there are dedicated fares according to traffic and we are trying to be flexible according to market needs. The MilleMiglia loyalty programme has also been extended up to December 31, 2021,” he said.
With safety being Alitalia’s priority, Rigo said that the safety solutions being provided by the airline are in coordination with health authorities. And while the airport lounges of Alitalia are temporarily closed, entitled passengers can access collect vouchers at select food outlets.
The Italian carrier also has a flexible cancellation policy. Rigo says, “For tickets issued not later than October 31, 2020 for travel between March 11 and October 31, 2020, there can be one rebooking, rerouting allowed at no penalty to travel within one year from the date of original flight. Entitlement for flights cancelled by the airline were to be requested until December 31, 2020. Also, for flights cancelled by the airline, travel agency can process refund through GDS auto refund.”
