Italy’s ITA Airways will land in Texas subsequent summer time.
The service will hyperlink its Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) hub with Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) with seasonal service starting Could 1, 2026, ITA mentioned Tuesday.
ITA will provide three flights per week — Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays — from Could 1 by way of Could 31. Then, on June 1, it can improve service to 5 weekly flights, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, by way of Oct. 24. The FCO-IAH route might be flown with an Airbus A330-900.
“That is our ninth North American vacation spot and can additional enrich the airline’s intercontinental community,” mentioned Joerg Eberhart, CEO of ITA, in an announcement. “With this new route, we consolidate our enlargement within the U.S. market, our most necessary worldwide market.”
Amongst its eight U.S. locations, ITA serves Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS), Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX), Miami Worldwide Airport (MIA), New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK), San Francisco Worldwide Airport (SFO) and Washington, D.C.’s Dulles Worldwide Airport (IAD). It additionally serves Toronto Pearson Worldwide Airport (YYZ) in Canada.
The brand new route is ITA’s newest step into the Lufthansa Group and Star Alliance. The group purchased a 41% stake within the Italian airline in January and plans to take full management of the service by 2027. As a part of the deal, ITA is realigning every thing from its schedule to loyalty program to the Lufthansa Group and its membership of world companions, together with United Airways.
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ITA’s new FCO-IAH route hyperlinks its important hub with United’s giant IAH hub — which can also be a gateway for the service to Latin America.
In an October interview, Eberhart named IAH and Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR), one other United hub, as potential future locations for ITA within the U.S.
The Italian service is within the technique of becoming a member of the Star Alliance (which is predicted to happen subsequent 12 months) and launched a loyalty tie-up with United in September. And, ITA plans to merge its Volare loyalty program with Lufthansa’s Miles & Extra program by February.
ITA would be the first airline to fly the FCO-IAH route nonstop.
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