Air Italy launched its first route from Canada this week.

The carrier’s new Toronto-Milan service is its third new international destination for 2019 from Milan Malpensa. The first flight took off on May 7th. It will operate six times a week (daily except Thursday) seasonally until October 25th aboard an Airbus A330-2000, which offers 24 fully-flatbed seats in Business Class and 228 Economy Class seats.

Speaking at the inaugural celebrations at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Tuesday, Air Italy’s chief operating officer, Rossen Dimitrov, said that as a Torontonian and COO of Air Italy, he was delighted to welcome Toronto, which is home to largest Italian community outside Italy, to the Air Italy Network. “Toronto and Milan are also twin cities and these cosmopolitan and multicultural cities are both important centres for trade and investment, as well as being major cultural centres,” he said. “Clearly, therefore, we expect a high volume of business and leisure trade in the fashion, food and culture sectors thanks to our new Toronto-Milan service in both directions.”

Toronto is the fifth North American route for Air Italy, joining New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco on the carrier’s destination roster.

The new service also connects travellers to seven key Italian cities (Rome, Naples, Palermo, Catania, Lamezia Terme, Olbia and Cagliari) from its Milan Malpensa hub.

Dimitrov explained that the route features a completely new, onboard business product, which was revealed this month on the inaugural Milan-Los Angeles flight. It includes new tableware and in-flight dining menus, crafted to meet the expectations of business travellers.

“Complementing our new product, we have our new dine-on-demand service, meaning our Business Class customers can select from our extensive à la carte menu at any time, and in any order, to create their own unique dining experience—all of which delivers yet again on our brand promise as we help our customers to ‘Imagine the World Differently’,” he said.