(AGENPARL) – lun 03 giugno 2024 PRESS RELEASE
Saudia and ITA Airways Expand Codeshare Agreement and
sign Partnership between ‘AlFursan’ and ‘Volare’
Dubai/Rome, 3rd June 2024 – Saudia, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, and ITA Airways,
the reference carrier of Italy, announce the expansion of their codeshare agreement and the signing
of a partnership between their loyalty programs, ‘AlFursan’ and ‘Volare’, also in light of the Italian
carrier’s new connections in the Middle East, which include the newly inaugurated Rome-Riyadh
direct flight and the routes to Kuwait City and Jeddah, operational in July and August respectively.
The agreement between the two airlines was signed during the IATA Annual General Meeting and
World Air Transport Summit held in Dubai by Amr Bakor, Head of Program Design and Airline Loyalty
at Saudia, and Andrea Benassi, General Manager of ITA Airways.
The agreement will provide enhanced benefits, increased travel options, and a broader network of
connections for guests traveling between Saudi Arabia and Italy, as well as other destinations within
their respective networks.
Travelers on both airlines will enjoy a range of privileges, including booking a single ticket for
itineraries with connecting flights, checking their luggage in to the final destination, as well as earning
and redeeming points for class upgrades and other frequent flyer benefits, in addition to existing
benefits available to SkyTeam Elite and Elite Plus members. Exclusive services include priority
check-in and boarding, preferential baggage drop-off counters and additional baggage allowances.
Travelers can also benefit from transit visa that can be issued through digital channels in cooperation
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia and stop over for up to 96 hours to enjoy the
many events in the Kingdom’s regions.
Specifically, Saudia’s guests travelling to Italy can reach 12 domestic destinations including Venice,
Bologna, Florence, Lamezia Terme, Palermo, Catania, Turin, Naples, Bari, Reggio Calabria, Genoa
and Brindisi, and 15 international destinations such as Amsterdam, Athens, Frankfurt, Cairo,
Geneva, Brussels, Madrid, Sofia, Tirana, Nice, Munich, Barcelona, Malta and London, and 9
intercontinental including Miami, San Francisco, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Rio de
Janeiro and Sao Paolo via ITA Airways’ flights from Rome Fiumicino International Airport.
Conversely, ITA Airways’ travelers can access 11 destinations in Saudi Arabia including Madinah,
Dammam, Neom, AlUla, Abha, Jazan, Tabuk, Yanbu, Hail, Turaif and Taif, and 7 international
destinations including Doha, Dubai, Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Dhaka and Manama, offered by
Saudia network via Jeddah and Riyadh airports.
Amr Bakor, Head of Program Design and Airline Loyalty at Saudia, said: “This partnership is
designed to enhance the travel experience for our guests by offering increased connectivity and a
wider range of destinations. AlFursan’s members will also enjoy reciprocal benefits, allowing them
to earn and redeem miles seamlessly across both airlines.”
He added: “We are thrilled about this partnership and confident that it will bring significant value to
our guests, and we look forward to serving them better together with ITA Airways.”
Andrea Benassi, General Manager ITA Airways, said: “We are pleased to extend our codeshare
agreement with Saudia Airlines. This partnership enhances ITA Airways’ commercial strategy of
growth and increases connectivity for our passengers. With this agreement, ITA Airways now
boasts 37 codeshare agreements, achieved in less than three years since beginning of our
operations. This collaboration underscores the importance of Saudi Arabia as a strategic market
for ITA Airways, particularly for business travel, as highlighted by the recent launch of our RomeRiyadh nonstop flight and the upcoming Rome-Jeddah flight in August.”
Emiliana Limosani, Chief Commercial Officer of ITA Airways and CEO of Volare stated: “The
collaboration with Saudia marks a significant milestone further expanding Volare’s partnership
portfolio and the offering for Members of both programs, who can accumulate and redeem points
with ITA Airways and Saudia flights as well as access the benefits of the respective programs”.
These codeshare flights are already available for booking on the respective websites of the two
airlines, http://www.ita-airways.com and https://www.saudia.com/, as well as through travel agencies.
Codeshare agreements contribute to achieving Saudia’s objectives by continuing its efforts to
connect the world to the Kingdom, coupled with qualitative initiatives to enhance the travel
experience through both ground and air services and products, in addition to aligning with the
initiatives of the Saudi Aviation Strategy by increasing air connectivity to more than 250 destinations
by 2030, and keeping pace with the targets of the Saudi tourism sector of reaching 150
million visits by 2030.
For ITA Airways, this collaboration comes alongside the launch of its new direct flight from Rome
Fiumicino to Riyadh, inaugurated on 2nd June which represents the Company’s first connection to
the Middle East. The new middle eastern routes will be operated with the technologically advanced
Airbus A321neo, which offers significant reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, as well
as enhanced comfort.
Per informazioni alla stampa:
Pietro Caldaroni, Head of Communication & Institutional Relations
Informazioni su ITA Airways
ITA Airways è una società partecipata al 100% dal Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze per l’esercizio dell’attività nel s ettore del
trasporto aereo. L’obiettivo di ITA è quello di creare un vettore aereo efficiente, innovativo, che diventi il punto di riferimento nel garantire
all’Italia una connettività di qualità sia con destinazioni internazionali, così da incentivare il turismo e il commercio con l’estero, sia
all’interno del Paese, sfruttando anche la mobilità integrata. ITA Airways mette al centro della propria strategia il miglior servizi o ai clienti
(attraverso una forte digitalizzazione di processi che assicurino una esperienza best in class e servizi personalizzat i), coniugato alla
sostenibilità, declinata nel suo aspetto ambientale (nuovi aerei green e tecnologicamente avanzati, utilizzo di carburanti sostenibili),
sociale (uguaglianza e inclusione per una compagnia genderless) e di governance (integrazione della sostenibilità nelle strategie e nei
processi interni). ITA Airways è un membro SkyTeam da ottobre 2021.