Alitalia unveils new routes after Etihad deal - update

(ANSA) - Fiumicino, September 3 - Italian flag-carrier Alitalia on Wednesday unveiled its first new routes from its main Fiumicino hub after this summer's lifesaving deal with Etihad Airlines.
    From Wednesday a biweekly link with Marrakesh is starting and from October 26 there will be a new Rome-Marseille service.
    Furthermore, according to Alitalia's Network Director Massimo Iraci, "many other new intercontinental and international links will be opened in the next few months, according to the AZ/Etihad development plan, especially from Fiumicino".
    The Etihad deal, finalised at the start of August, left 2,250 jobs at risk but the Italian government stepped in to save more than half of them, 1,250.
    While the deal, which was formally signed August 9, will keep Alitalia in the air, it also offers Etihad a stronger foothold in Europe and access to lucrative routes.