Leisure-focused Italian airline Neos has operated its first passenger service to New York JFK using one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Prior to this, the airline had flown to New York for cargo missions. This inaugural service departed Milan on Thursday, July 22nd, from the airline's Malpensa base.

Approval granted by US DOT

With the approval of the US Department of Transportation (US DOT), Neos has operated its first passenger flight to New York JFK from Milan Malpensa. For months now, the airline had been flying this route in order to transport freight between Italy and the United States. However, the takeoff of flight NO787 on July 22nd from Milan to New York was the carrier's very first regular passenger service.

Commemorating the special milestone, the airline took to Twitter and posted the following message in Italian:

"The first Neos flight to New York took off from Malpensa: A promise kept to a destination that we are sure will be able to give us a lot of satisfaction."

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Details of the first flight

The flight pushed back from Milan Malpensa (MXP) on July 22nd at 12:42 local time- 22 minutes later than its scheduled departure time of 12:20. The Boeing 787-9 flew for seven hours and 57 minutes, landing at New York JFK at 15:07, 17 minutes later than its scheduled arrival time of 14:50, local time.

The aircraft registered EI-NUA was the Boeing 787-9 operating this first service. The jet is just under two years of age and has flown with Neos since it was delivered from Boeing in September 2019. The aircraft is actually a lease from Air Lease Corporation, according to data from ch-aviation. There are a total of six 787-9s in the Neos fleet.

The Neos 787 experience

The Neos Boeing 787-9 is configured with two classes of service, which are premium economy and economy:

• There are 28 seats in premium economy in a 2-3-2 layout.
• There are 331 in economy in a 3-3-3 layout. This class subdivides into an extra-legroom economy (named Economy Extra Plus), with 36 seats, followed by standard economy with its 295 seats.

Although its not a completely separate class of its own, Economy Extra Plus features more than just extra legroom. Interestingly, this subsection only allows adult passengers. These tickets include fast-track at the airport as well as a choice of seating and separate check-in, hot towels, and a welcome drink.

All seats are fitted with inflight entertainment screens, although those located in premium economy are slightly larger.

Currently, Neos flies to mainly leisure destinations. In addition to its relatively robust domestic schedule, it also flies to the Bahamas, Cape Verde, Cuba, China, Greece, Mexico, and more. The airline operates out of several Italian airports. However, most of its activity is concentrated out of Milan Malpensa.

Have you flown with Neos yet? Is it an airline you would be interested in trying? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.