Air Italy will launch Milan-Chicago flights on May 14, a
month after the carrier begins California service.
The announcement comes amid protests from U.S. network airlines
that accuse Air Italy of being a proxy for 49% owner Qatar Airways.
Air Italy will fly three times per week between O'Hare and
Milan. With the route's launch, the carrier will fly from its Milan hub to five
U.S. cities. Air Italy announced San Francisco and Los Angeles service two
weeks ago. The carrier began flying to New York and Miami over the summer.
United, American and Delta are accusing Qatar Airways of
using Air Italy as an indirect means to fly one-stop service into the U.S. from
its Doha hub. The U.S. Big Three have carried on a vocal campaign in recent
years to curtail U.S. flying by Qatar, Emirates and Etihad, which they accuse
of accepting state subsidies, a violation of international aviation agreements.
Last January, in response to U.S. government pressure, the
nation of Qatar pledged that Qatar Airways would begin issuing annual,
externally audited financial reports. Separately, Qatar Airways gave verbal
assurance that it had no plans to add indirect flights to the U.S.
Such flights, however, are allowed under the 2001 open skies
air treaty between the U.S. and Qatar.