Dubai-based airline flydubai celebrated its inaugural service to Naples becoming the first national carrier for the United Arab Emirates to offer direct flights from Dubai. With up to five flights a week, Naples becomes flydubai’s second destination in Italy after it launched flights to Sicily’s Catania last year.
Onboard the flight was a senior delegation led by Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai and Thierry Aucoc, Emirates Senior Vice President, Commerical Operations, Europe, Russian Federation and Latin America, together with representatives from the regional media. On arrival in Naples, the delegation was met by Roberto Barbieri, CEO of Naples Airport and Margherita Chiaramonte, Business Aviation Development Director, Naples Airport.
Efendi said, “We are delighted to be flying to Naples, the second destination we have launched in Italy in a year. It is another example of flydubai’s decade long commitment towards opening up underserved markets and giving those in Italy more opportunities to benefit from direct flights to Dubai and beyond on our network. We look forward to the increased opportunities for trade and tourism that this new route will bring.”
Emirates will codeshare on this route and for bookings under the codeshare, Emirates passengers will receive complimentary meals and the Emirates checked baggage allowance on flights operated by flydubai in Business and Economy class.
Aucoc said, “Through our codeshare partnership, Emirates’ customers from across our global network, particularly from key inbound markets such as Australia, Japan and China, will now also be able to easily access Naples, while local travellers in the Naples region can connect seamlessly from their flydubai flight to Emirates flights at our Dubai hub to popular destinations such as Thailand, Australia, Egypt and China.”
Italy is an important centre for commerce, trade and industry and has become increasingly popular among travellers from across the region and the wider flydubai network. As one of the largest cities in Italy, Naples is home to a wealth of cultural attractions, great food and the beautiful Amalfi coastline. According to the Italian Government Tourist Board, UAE visitors to Italy were the highest spenders from the Middle East in 2017 with visitor numbers increasing by 21.97 per cent.
flydubai’s route network in Europe currently includes 27 points in Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Macedonia (FYROM), Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine.
