Looking ahead to summer 2022 at SEA Milan Airports

SEA, Milan Airports, introduces the 2022 summer season observing prospects for recovery despite a scenario that is now even more complex for air transport.

With a total of 156 destinations served in 70 countries around the world and 69 companies operating regular scheduled flights, Milan Airports confirm a 75 per cent recovery in the network portfolio compared to the record year of 2019. Even more positive is the recovery in terms of capacity offered, which in terms of seats on sale, to date, exceeds the numbers of summer 2019 and is well above the European average (91 per cent), confirming the interest that the market reserves for airports managed by SEA.

“The richness of the network and the coexistence of different business models represent one of the best transport offers that can be proposed to the public,” said Andrea Tucci, V.P. Aviation Business Development of SEA Aeroporti Milano. “In the area served by the infrastructures we manage, carriers can count on the largest outgoing market in Italy and on the growing interest of the incoming one for the territory served. It is the task of the airport, together with its institutional and private partners, to draw attention to the development of these opportunities and to attract the presence of carriers”.

The U.S.

North America is the absolute key player of the recovery and long-haul news for this summer. The offer is reconstituted and enriched with new commercial proposals thanks to the entry of new players (ITA, Neos, and La Compagnie) and new intercontinental destinations such as Chicago and Montreal which, in addition to Atlanta, will allow greater network capillarity and easier access to the U.S. and Northern Italian markets. The wealth of business proposals and opportunities for North America is underlined by the presence of no less than seven carriers that will serve the ‘Big Apple’ and place Malpensa in the industry statistics as the airport with the largest number of companies on the destination. As evidence of the significant presence of the business segment in our market, La Compagnie will enter on 15 April 2022 with a new all business class service. LATAM, with its presence in São Paulo, will serve to boost demand and recover connectivity throughout South America, while the commercial offer for outgoing tourist traffic is guaranteed by the presence of Neos in Central America and the Caribbean.

New York:                                 

• ITA = introducing seven new flights per week
• La Compagnie = introducing five new flights per week NEW
• Delta Airlines = introducing seven new flights per week, plus five flights per week from 2/5
• American Airlines = seven flights per week
• United Airlines = seven flights per week
• Emirates = seven flights per week
• Neos = two flights per week.

Chicago:       

• United Airlines = seven new flights per week.   

Atlanta:                                    

• Delta Airlines = seven flights per week.

Montreal/Toronto:          

• Air Canada = five new flights per week, Montreal.

São Paulo:                                

• LATAM = four flights per week.

Middle East, Africa, and Asia

The pandemic crisis, which has slowed the recovery of supply in some important geographical areas, has highlighted the importance of connections in the Gulf hubs that provide connectivity to Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Africa. Malpensa will connect no fewer than seven airports in the region with the addition of Bahrain operated by Gulf Air from the beginning of June 2022. Across the Middle East sector, the richness and variety of offerings will support the return of traffic as early as this summer. Iran, Lebanon and Israel are connected by the historic services of Iran Air, MEA and El Al. Jordan will benefit from the Wizz Air new twice-weekly flight to Amman.

As far as Africa is concerned, the connections to Dakar by both Air Senegal (four flights a week) and Neos (two flights a week) and those to Addis Ababa by Ethiopian Airlines with a daily flight were reactivated some time ago. Coverage of North Africa is guaranteed by the gradual return to pre-COVID-19 operations of Royal Air Maroc, Air Algerie, Tunis Air, Egypt Air and Air Cairo and the reopening of Red Sea destinations as early as winter with the activation of tourist corridors.

The recovery in Asia has accelerated with the return of the daily Singapore Airlines flight. As for China, despite the country’s zero COVID-19 policy severely limiting the reopening of the market, Neos and Air China maintain their respective schedules on Tianjin and Beijing.

Bahrain:                       

• Gulf Air = five new flights per week 

Dubai:                            

• Emirates = 14 flights per week 

Abu Dhabi:     

• Etihad = seven flights per week

Doha:                           

• Qatar Airways = 14 flights per week

Muscat:                        

• Oman Air = four flights per week

Kuwait City:         

• Kuwait Airways = three flights per week

Jeddah:                         

• Saudia = four flights per week

Addis Ababa:

• Ethiopian Airlines = seven flights per week

Dakar:                          

• Air Senegal = four flights per week
• Neos = two flights per week

Singapore:            

• Singapore Airlines = seven flights per week

Europe

Also for the summer season, carriers are mainly focusing their activity on short- and medium-haul destinations where the most capacity is on sale with a 106 per cent recovery on 2019.

At Malpensa, the base for 40 aircraft of the three main low cost companies (easyJet, Ryanair, and Wizz Air) serving a network of 88 destinations, the recovery of this market is stimulated by a wide and incremental commercial offer that this summer is enriched with new destinations from the Aegean (Izmir, Skiathos, and Thessaloniki, linked by Sun Express, easyJet and Wizz Air and Aegean Airlines respectively), to the Adriatic (with the new Croatia Airlines flight to Split) and the Mediterranean (with easyJet flying to Lampedusa for the first time). Additional flights also to more traditional destinations, such as London, where Wizz Air and British Airways diversify by both introducing London Gatwick (LGW), and the latter also London City (LCY). Wizz Air completes its portfolio of new additions with Prague and Tuzla in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Finally, we would like to highlight Singapore Airlines, which for several months now, has been offering the unique possibility of flying to Barcelona with the premium intercontinental service of an Airbus A350-900 thanks to fifth-freedom rights.