Rome, February 27, 2014 – The Balkans and Eastern Europe play an increasingly important and strategic role in the Alitalia Group’s new Industrial Plan.

Alitalia currently serves Eastern Europe with eighteen nonstop flights:

- Three to Albania (to Tirana from Rome, Turin and Bari) and three to Russia (to Moscow from Rome and Milan Malpensa, and to St. Petersburg from Rome).
- Two to Poland ( from Rome to Warsaw and Krakow) and two to Romania (from Rome and Milan Linate to Bucharest).
- One to each destination: Armenia (Rome-Yerevan), Bulgaria (Rome-Sofia), Georgia (Rome-Tbilisi), Greece (Rome-Athens), Montenegro (Rome-Podgorica), Serbia (Rome-Belgrade), Ukraine (Rome-Kiev) and Hungary (Rome-Budapest).
In 2013, the market share on routes served by Alitalia has grown by 6.5 percentage points with an increase of 8% in the total number of passengers.

Recognition awards received in Hungary and Greece for the Company’s impressive 2013 performance help to strengthen Alitalia’s position as a preferred airline to the region.

Alitalia has received Budapest Airport’s “Fastest growing network carrier” award for the capacity increase on the Rome-Budapest route, which the Company serves with five weekly flights (+59% passengers, +14 percentage points market share in 2013 compared to previous year).

Alitalia was also presented with two awards at Athens Airport during the “14th Airline Marketing Workshop”: the Company was honored to be awarded in the “Best of the TOP 10 Airlines, overall fastest growing airline” category, which recognizes carriers that transported the highest number of passengers through Athens Airport. The Company was also awarded “Fastest Growing Airline Award for Geographical Region", which recognizes carriers with the most rapid passenger growth to Western Europe. In 2013, Alitalia showed a significant increase in flights from/to Athens with passenger growth of 19.5% and 6.5% in load factor.

Alitalia expands its summer schedule, effective March 31, 2014, with new nonstop service to the region. Starting May 1, 2014, Alitalia will launch a new daily nonstop flight, operated with an Embraer E-175, between Rome Fiumicino and Skopje, Macedonia’s Capital. Flight schedules are designed to accommodate both business and leisure travelers including Macedonians living in Italy, with convenient connections from Macedonia to the rest of the Alitalia’s intercontinental and international network via the Company’s Rome Fiumicino hub.

Alitalia strengthens its presence in Poland, Czech Republic and Greece, with new service from Milan Linate to Warsaw, and seasonal summer service from Milan Linate to Prague, Athens, Thessaloniki and Heraklion.

Seasonal flights to St. Petersburg will also begin operating from Milan Malpensa.

The summer season schedule also includes seasonal flights from Rome Fiumicino to Mykonos, Rhodes, Thessaloniki and Heraklion.

Committed to meeting the demands of the ever-growing business travel market between Italy and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Alitalia intends to add new flights to Zagreb (Croatia) and Pristina (Kosovo).

Air One has also invested resources and operational capacity on the Eastern European region. As of 2013, Alitalia Group’s Smart Carrier already operates 17 direct flights to the region:

Eight to Russia (from Catania to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Rostov; from Venice to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Samara; from Pisa to Moscow and St. Petersburg).
Five to Albania ( toTirana from Verona, Venice, Malpensa, Bologna and Pisa).
Two to the Czech Republic (to Prague from Pisa and Venice)
One toGreece (Venice to Athens) and one to Ukraine (Catania to Kiev).
Starting March 1, 2014, Air One will add an extra flight to Albania (Genoa-Tirana) and by March 31, 2014, seven flights will operate to Russia (from Palermo to Moscow and St. Petersburg and from Catania to Krasnodar and Rostov).