First the bad news:
Milan-based airline Eurofly recently announced that it will discontinue its daily “MiMa” service between Milan and New York’s JFK Airport as of February 8th. All 48 seats of these Airbus 319 planes were business class, providing an easy and luxurious way to travel to Milan. (Dream of Italy Editor Kathy McCabe flew on MiMa and reviewed it in the November issue.) The company is currently undergoing economic reorganization, and intends to eliminate three aircraft from its fleet and reduce its staff by one-fifth. Eurofly representatives stated that while the MiMa service was very well received by travelers, it would simply take too long for the service to become profitable, and therefore wouldn’t be sustainable.
And now the good news:
Eurofly is now extending weekly direct service to Pescara (Abruzzo) and Lamezia (Calabria). The first flight from Pescara to New York is scheduled to leave May 9th, 2007, an event that Pescara’s Director of Tourism, Enrico Paolini, called “an event of historical importance for Abruzzo”. The Pescara – New York service will feature weekly flights, departing Wednesdays at 1:20 pm; flights from New York – Pescara will depart Tuesday nights with return service departing from New York JFK’s Terminal 4 on Tuesday evenings. Flights to Lamezia Terme are scheduled to begin May 13th and will depart on Sundays at 1:45 p.m.; New York – Lamezia flights will depart at 10 p.m. on Saturdays and arrive in Lamezia at 12:45 p.m. the next day. Service between both Pescara and Lamezia and New York will connect through Bologna. The flights start at $659 roundtrip. — Cailin Birch