L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano T h e n e w s h i t t h e Pacific Northwest like a tidal wave: Alaska Airlines i s s t a r t i n g n o n - stop service from Seattle to Rome! For many Italians and Italian Americans living in the area, it is a dream come true. Starting next May, travel- ers headed to Italy will be able to fly direct from Seattle Tacoma International Airport to Fiumicino International Airport outside Rome – the first time that the Emerald City will be connected to the Eternal City. It also marks Alaska Airline's first stop in Europe. Advance tickets for the new routing, served by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will go on sale this fall. The announcement was made in a video on the air- lines website by Alaska Air- l i n e s C E O B e n i t o ( B e n ) Minicucci, a first-generation I t a l i a n A m e r i c a n b o r n i n Montreal. Wearing a blue polo shirt with the word Italia on the front, Minicucci starts t o m a k e t h e n e w r o u t e a n n o u n c e m e n t b u t s t o p s abruptly, asking his audience to hold on a minute. He takes out his cellphone and calls his mother and says: Mamma, ho una bella notizia ("I have good news"). He then proceeds to tell his mother in Italian about the new nonstop service to Rome. His mom, who appears on a split screen, takes over the video from that point, enthusiastically telling v i e w e r s a f e w o f t h e g o o d things to enjoy in Italy – starting with prosecco, fol- lowed by pasta. "Serving Rome nonstop from Seattle is a dream come true," said Minicucci in a company press release. "As an Italian American whose parents emigrated from Italy, this is a particularly mean- ingful addition to our net- work. Our guests have been asking for an easy way to get to Italy for years – and we're thrilled to provide it." Ivan Bassato, chief avia- tion officer at Aeroporti di Roma, also expressed his delight that Alaska Airlines chose Rome as its first desti- nation in Europe. "For the first time in history, Italy will be directly connected to Seat- tle, further strengthening ties with the U. S. West Coast a n d t h e b r o a d e r P a c i f i c region." Alaska has already cleared one hurdle, making sure that Fiumicino has enough space t o a c c o m m o d a t e t h e n e w flights. The 787 Dreamliner, to be used on the new route, was part of the $1.9 billion deal when Alaska Airlines acquired Hawaiian Airlines last fall. Alaska Airlines officials report that Rome is consis- t e n t l y a m o n g t h e m o s t - requested destination for its customers. By eliminating the lay-over in either an East coast city or European hub, the nonstop service between S e a t t l e a n d R o m e w i l l b e a b o u t 1 0 h o u r s o f f l y i n g time, not 13 hours and up. F o r t h e p a s t s e v e r a l months, Minicucci has hint- ed that Rome might be a new Alaska destination, citing how pleased his family was going to be. Minicucci's par- e n t s e m i g r a t e d f r o m t h e Molise region of Italy in the 1950s to escape post-war p o v e r t y ; h i s f a t h e r n e v e r went to school. Born in 1966, Minicucci and his brother Pasquale grew up in Quebec speaking three languages: English, French and Italian. He became a U. S. citizen in 2012. Minicucci was selected president and CEO of Alaska Airlines on March 31, 2021, during the height of the pan- demic. Previously, he had served 14 years in the Cana- d i a n A r m e d F o r c e s , t h e n joined Air Canada where he worked on technical opera- tions. He joined Alaska Air- lines in 2004, starting out as staff vice president of main- tenance and then rising up the corporate ladder. As CEO of Alaska Airlines, Minicucci oversees about 33,000 employees and near- ly 1,500 daily flights to more than 100 nonstop destina- tions. Just six months ago, A l a s k a a n n o u n c e d i t w a s a d d i n g t w o n e w n o n s t o p flights from Seattle to Tokyo- N a r i t a a n d S e o u l , S o u t h Korea. Currently the new nonstop Seattle-Rome route will be available four days a week. Although specific flight times may change, Alaska is publi- c i z i n g t h a t t h e o u t b o u n d route (Seattle – Rome) will fly Monday, Wednesday, Fri- day and Sunday, leaving at 6 p.m., and arriving in Rome t h e n e x t a f t e r n o o n . T h e inbound route (Rome – Seat- tle) will leave Fiumicino at 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Tues- day, Thursday and Saturday, and arrive in Seattle at 6 p.m. In a Seattle Times article, Alaska's Chief Commercial O f f i c e r A n d r e w H a r r i s o n said that the airline knew there was great interest in this routing because mem- bers of its loyalty program w e r e u s i n g m i l e s t o b o o k award travel to Italy through Alaska's partner airlines. According to Harrison, the market was underserved and there is great demand. "After a l l , " H a r r i s o n s a i d , " w h o doesn't love Italy?" RITA CIPALLA Alaska Airlines links the Emerald City with the Eternal City Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci announced in early June that Alaska Airlines will launch a nonstop flight from Seattle to Rome in May 2026 – the first such route out of Seattle (Photo: Alaska Airlines) SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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