Etihad Airways, Alitalia unveil two Expo Milano aircraft

Alitalia, Italy’s leading carrier, and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, have unveiled two aircraft in a Expo Milano 2015 livery to mark their co-sponsorship of the global event.
Expo 2015 will be held in Milan from May 1 May to Oct. 31, with an estimated 20 million visitors expected to attend the event of which more than a third will travel to the northern Italian city by air.
The airlines held joint simultaneous events at Malpensa Airport in Milan and Abu Dhabi Airport to unveil the two Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
The Alitalia A330-200 and the Etihad Airways A330-200, both in the eye-catching special livery, will operate their first flights on Tuesday (Oct. 21), between Rome and Abu Dhabi and will carry the Expo 2015 “feeding the planet, energy for life” message worldwide.
James Hogan, president and CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “These two aircraft, in this eye-catching livery, will spread the important global message of Expo 2015 to people on six continents.
Flight frequencies to and from Milan are set to increase during Expo 2015 when Alitalia will commence daily flights between Milan Malpensa and Abu Dhabi.
Alitalia and Etihad Airways will link Milan with 560 online and codeshare destinations across the globe.
The new Alitalia service will complement Etihad Airways’ daily passenger flights and regular freight flights between Milan and Abu Dhabi and contribute to the two airlines’ commitment to develop Malpensa as a global air cargo hub.
Gabriele Del Torchio, CEO of Alitalia, said: “We are very pleased to continue the joint Expo 2015 campaign with Etihad Airways and unveil these Expo 2015 livery aircraft which will be seen at airports in North America, South America, Asia and Africa — all key markets for Alitalia and from where we’ll carry passengers to Expo 2015 in Milan.