Air Italy will bring nonstop flying from San Francisco International to Italy back into vogue next year when it launches new nonstops to Milan's Malpensa Airport. Currently, the only nonstops to Italy from the Bay Area are on Norwegian Air with seasonal summer-only flights from Oakland.

It's long been rumored that Alitalia would bring back the SFO-Milan nonstops it abandoned back in 2001, but the wobbly national carrier seems to have lost out to Air Italy, a new carrier backed by the deep pockets of Qatar Airways. This news comes from Italian newspapers, and today an SFO spokesperson has confirmed the new flights.