Why No Icelandair Service to Rome?
Dec 12, 2017, 2:47 am
#4
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Icelandair is a small (but growing) carrier, with a fleet of only 32 aircraft serving just 26 European destinations.
You may think that Rome should be top of the list for any carrier flying to Europe; they may get there in time. They have only just started flying to Berlin, for example.
Milan-Malpensa is served as a summer seasonal service; this past summer, it was served 3 times weekly.
You may think that Rome should be top of the list for any carrier flying to Europe; they may get there in time. They have only just started flying to Berlin, for example.
Milan-Malpensa is served as a summer seasonal service; this past summer, it was served 3 times weekly.
Dec 12, 2017, 7:59 am
#5
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Growing, indeed. They have several 737 Max's coming on stream. It's one of those aircraft that will soon (May 2018) serve my closest major airport: CLE. Ironic that a Midwestern city gets FI service before FCO. Anyway, service from CLE is what prompts my interest in FI and availing myself of its routes to Europe. I'd much rather connect at KEF than EWR or JFK. And I'd also like more EU destinations.
Dec 12, 2017, 8:17 am
#6
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I'm sure that if Aeroporti di Roma had offered $1 million over two years to assist with setting the route up - as both Wow and Icelandair were in Cleveland - they would be serving Rome already 
Dec 12, 2017, 8:37 am
#8
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I'm sure that if Aeroporti di Roma had offered $1 million over two years to assist with setting the route up - as both Wow and Icelandair were in Cleveland - they would be serving Rome already
RNE, glad it's only a matter of allocating scarce resources and not something inherent to FCO.
Dec 12, 2017, 12:18 pm
#9
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The real answer: Rome is a low margin destination. Many majors can't afford to operate there, including most of the U.S. carriers which operate seasonally, not year-round. Icelandair in particular fills a niche, but I'm not sure they can make FCO work from KEF.
Dec 22, 2017, 2:54 am
#12
Join Date: Oct 2016
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The most important reason is that Rome is too far from Iceland to fit into Icelandair's 24h transatlantic rotation. Icelandair depend heavily on routing transatlantic passengers through KEF and they manage to do this economically by using the same aircraft for one European return trip and one North America return trip within a 24 hour period. Europe is a lot closer so the smaller part of these 24 hours is dedicated to the European rotation. The main bank of flights to Europe leaves KEF at around 7 AM local time and returns back around 3-4 PM. This effectively limits the range of this business model in Europe to places like Munich, Zurich and Berlin. Destinations further than that can not reached from Iceland and make the return in time to connect with the bank of flights leaving for North America. There are some seasonal European destinations in the Icelandair network that don't fit this mold like Madrid, Barcelona and Milan but you will notice that these will have totally different hours of operation than most intra-Europe flights by Icelandair as they are mostly aimed at local demand rather than connections to the US/Canada.
Icelandair could fly to Rome and make it fit with the North America connection banks by flying out at 7 AM and then keeping the aircraft on the ground overnight in Rome to fly back the next day. They do this on a few North American routes but that is obviously not the most optimal use of the aircraft. The potential yields on a Rome route are probably not high enough to justify it.
Icelandair could fly to Rome and make it fit with the North America connection banks by flying out at 7 AM and then keeping the aircraft on the ground overnight in Rome to fly back the next day. They do this on a few North American routes but that is obviously not the most optimal use of the aircraft. The potential yields on a Rome route are probably not high enough to justify it.
Dec 22, 2017, 9:04 am
#13
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There are some seasonal European destinations in the Icelandair network that don't fit this mold like Madrid, Barcelona and Milan but you will notice that these will have totally different hours of operation than most intra-Europe flights by Icelandair as they are mostly aimed at local demand rather than connections to the US/Canada.
Dec 22, 2017, 10:27 am
#14
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- Milan is Italy's biggest city, not Rome.
- Nobody lives in Rome's hinterland, while Milan is surrounded by populous cities.
- Milan, Northern Italy/Po Valley is the country's economic centre, not Rome.
- Tourism in Milan and surroundings (the great Italian lakes) is as big as Rome in some way.
The problem for Rome is that here is absolutely nothing in its hinterland. Yes, the city is touristic, but economically thats all it: tourism and government. When looking at both industry and commerce, Rome is like an Appalachian town compared to Milan which would resemble a powerhouse like Houston, TX.
There are dozens of huge cities around Milan, many of which that are not really well-known to foreigners, but which still are industrially and commercially VERY important places (eg. Brescia) with lots of major companies headquartered. It's a very, very rich area - with much more purchasing power than the Rome area.
The distance between Rome and Milan (which is not 318 miles but 356 when driving) is quite big still - for European means it is really not small. Even on the fast high speed train it still takes three hours to cover.
Dec 22, 2017, 11:34 am
#15
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And why would that be? If you look more in depth, it's not a surprise at all.
- Milan is Italy's biggest city, not Rome.
- Nobody lives in Rome's hinterland, while Milan is surrounded by populous cities.
- Milan, Northern Italy/Po Valley is the country's economic centre, not Rome.
- Tourism in Milan and surroundings (the great Italian lakes) is as big as Rome in some way.
The problem for Rome is that here is absolutely nothing in its hinterland. Yes, the city is touristic, but economically thats all it: tourism and government. When looking at both industry and commerce, Rome is like an Appalachian town compared to Milan which would resemble a powerhouse like Houston, TX.
There are dozens of huge cities around Milan, many of which that are not really well-known to foreigners, but which still are industrially and commercially VERY important places (eg. Brescia) with lots of major companies headquartered. It's a very, very rich area - with much more purchasing power than the Rome area.
The distance between Rome and Milan (which is not 318 miles but 356 when driving) is quite big still - for European means it is really not small. Even on the fast high speed train it still takes three hours to cover.
- Milan is Italy's biggest city, not Rome.
- Nobody lives in Rome's hinterland, while Milan is surrounded by populous cities.
- Milan, Northern Italy/Po Valley is the country's economic centre, not Rome.
- Tourism in Milan and surroundings (the great Italian lakes) is as big as Rome in some way.
The problem for Rome is that here is absolutely nothing in its hinterland. Yes, the city is touristic, but economically thats all it: tourism and government. When looking at both industry and commerce, Rome is like an Appalachian town compared to Milan which would resemble a powerhouse like Houston, TX.
There are dozens of huge cities around Milan, many of which that are not really well-known to foreigners, but which still are industrially and commercially VERY important places (eg. Brescia) with lots of major companies headquartered. It's a very, very rich area - with much more purchasing power than the Rome area.
The distance between Rome and Milan (which is not 318 miles but 356 when driving) is quite big still - for European means it is really not small. Even on the fast high speed train it still takes three hours to cover.