Emirates opens new route to Bologna

Emirates opened up a fourth route to Italy Tuesday with daily flights available from the airline’s hub in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Bologna, Italy.

The new route was celebrated with a traditional firehose shower as the first Emirates flight, a Boeing 777-300ER, landed in Bologna.

Bologna’s standing as a provincial capital with one of the world’s best-preserved medieval centers makes it a popular destination with travelers from the GCC region. It will serve as Emirates’ main destination in northern Italy, giving passengers easy access to other cities such as Florence and Pisa.

Emirates also hopes to tap into the business travel market in the region as well since Bologna is one of Italy’s biggest industrial cities. The route will serve as a link between business travelers flying between Italy and the airline’s network in the Middle East and Asia.

“The gateway to Tuscany, Bologna offers inbound travellers with easy access to this vibrant tourism and commercial hub,” Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer, said. “We are confident that our new daily flight will bring economic benefit, trade and investment to the region with demand for direct links to and from the Middle East, Asia and Australasia more prevalent than ever.”

The Bologna route will be serviced by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER with eight private first-class suites, 42 lie-flat seats in business class, and space for 310 more passengers in coach.