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ITA Airways is expanding its North American footprint with the introduction of a new long-haul route connecting Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). This marks the first time the two cities will be linked by nonstop service and the new route will debut on May 1st.
Flights will begin with 3x weekly throughout May and then increase to 5x weekly during the peak June to October travel season. The route will be operated by the Airbus A330-900. It offers 33 Business Class, 24 Premium Economy, and 262 Economy Class seats. With the launch of service to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), ITA Airways strengthens its strategy in the United States and will fly to many of the hubs of its soon-to-be Star Alliance partners, Air Canada and United Airlines. It also has codeshare relationships with both carriers and serves eight North American destinations, including:
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) (United hub)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) (United hub)
- Miami International Airport (MIA)
- New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) (United hub)
- Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) (Air Canada hub)
- Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) (United hub)
Travelers connecting through Rome Fiumicino will enjoy seamless access to ITA’s broad domestic network. It currently offers connections to 16 Italian airports from Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) and 12 Italian airports from Milan Linate Airport (LIN). This ensures smooth connections to major cities and regional destinations while supporting both leisure and business travel.
ITA Airways continues to position itself as an ambassador of Italian hospitality, emphasizing comfort, service, and a refined onboard atmosphere rooted in Italian culture. The new Houston route gives more travelers direct access to Italy’s food, fashion, and historic attractions.
Joerg Eberhart, CEO and General Manager of ITA Airways, said:
We are proud to announce that for the first time in history Rome and Houston will be connected with a direct flight. This is our ninth North American destination and will further enrich the airline’s intercontinental network, one of ITA Airways’ key assets: long-haul operations not only support profitability but also stimulate short-haul traffic, strengthening the Rome Fiumicino hub. With this new route, we consolidate our expansion in the U.S. market, our most important international market. The extensive offer from Rome allows us to be the reference carrier from the U.S. to Italy and, via Rome, to Europe and the Mediterranean for the Italian community and other major communities in the region. The new destination is also part of a broader international growth strategy, culminating in ITA Airways joining the Star Alliance in 2026, within the integration process into the Lufthansa Group.”
Anthony’s Take: I’m glad that ITA Airways will join Star Alliance next year. I’ve never flown ITA, but had flown Alitalia several times in the past. Here’s hoping for some good award availability or inexpensive Business Class to Italy in the near future.
(Featured Image Credit: ITA Airways.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
