Alitalia and China Eastern present the new Rome-Beijing and Rome-Shanghai flights. A partnership established between the two companies.

Rome, 16 February 2011 – The Chairman of Alitalia Roberto Colaninno, the CEO of Alitalia Rocco Sabelli and the Chairman of China Eastern Ma Xulun presented the new direct flights between Italy and China, operated in codesharing by Alitalia and China Eastern and launched within the framework of a partnership agreement between the two companies.

The new flights will connect Rome with the two main Chinese cities, Beijing, the political capital and Shanghai, the economic capital:
− During summer 2011, China Eastern will start the new flights between Rome and Shanghai in codesharing with Alitalia. There will be 4 weekly flights operated with the Airbus A340, configured in 3 travel classes;
− Starting 1 June, Alitalia will operate new flights between Rome and Beijing in codesharing with China Eastern. There will be 4 weekly flights (5 starting in October) operated with the Airbus A330, configured in 3 travel classes.

Thanks to these new services, Alitalia will strengthen its operations in the Far East (where the Company today is the only carrier offering direct service between Italy and Japan) and China Eastern (one of the most important Asian carriers) will launch its operations on the Italian market.

In 2010 China became the second largest economy in the world with a GDP larger than Japan’s. According to IATA, the International Air Transport Association, in the next 3 years China will be the country that will contribute the most to the growth of world air transport traffic with an increase of 214 million passengers out of the total increase of 800 million forecast at the world level.

The agreement between the two companies provides for the extension of the codesharing to the main Italian and Chinese domestic destinations. It also identifies further areas for cooperation in the handling, maintenance and cargo sectors as well as the respective customer loyalty programmes.

Moreover, the cooperation between Alitalia and China Eastern consolidates the SkyTeam alliance’s position on the Asian market. Alitalia is already part of the alliance and China Eastern will join during 2011. The partnership also represents a further step in Alitalia’s strategy to connect Italy with the most important worldwide destinations for traditional tourism and business.

Alitalia
Alitalia – Compagnia Aerea Italiana (www.alitalia.com) in the upcoming summer season 2011 will fly to 92 destinations, 29 in Italy and 63 in the rest of the world, with more than 5,200 weekly flights, operated with a fleet of 149 aircraft. Alitalia is a member of the SkyTeam global alliance, that offers more than 12,000 daily flights to 898 destinations in 169 countries. Together with the Air France/KLM Group and Delta Airlines, the company is part of one of the most important joint ventures in world air transport.

China Eastern
China Eastern (www.flychinaeastern.com) is one of the three main airline companies in China. It is based in Shanghai and has a fleet of 337 aircraft. It provides service to a network of 110 destinations in China, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, South Africa and Australia. In April 2010, China Eastern signed a memorandum of understanding for the company ’s entry into the SkyTeam alliance in June 2011.