Review flight in economy with Neos from Milan to New York, I was definitely expecting better
A couple of years later, I am back flying aboard Neos, an Italian airline owned by [...]
Neos Air
MXP
United States of America
A couple of years later I'm back flying aboard Neos, Italian company owned by Alpitour which operates in the world of both leisure/charter flights and scheduled routes.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- 787/9
- Class:
- Economy Extra Plus
- Treat:
- MXP - JFK
- Price:
- 365€
- Book
On long-haul, it operates Dreamliners outfitted in two cabins: premium economy and economy, but be careful because it may happen to book Neos, but to fly Norse, the reason is simple the Scandinavian carrier rose from the ashes of Norwegian and the Italian company bought airplanes that were previously just operated by Norwegian, so the product net of livery, uniforms, and languages spoken on board is the same (or nearly so).
Reservation
This ticket is part of our challenge in which we put to the test 4 of the 6 carriers that regularly connect Milan Malpensa with New York. Neos is the only Italian carrier left at Malpensa to operate long-haul flights, and New York is certainly one of the most important destinations.
The round-trip ticket cost me 931$, this route cost me about 300$, while the return that I booked and traveled in premium economy cost just over 600$.
Neos' prices may also be more aggressive, but I needed to select a flexible fare to handle any schedule changes, let's say if booked in time this round trip ticket is bookable around 500€, but with promotion and discount codes even significantly less.
At the airport
We arrived at Malpensa on time, after an early rise at dawn since for us Ligurians getting to Malpensa is never easy and free of inconvenience, such as an accident on the A8.
Fortunately I always leave with a nice cushion and so we arrived intonro at 7:30 a.m., with the first of us leaving aboard United at 9:50 a.m.
Things did not get off to a great start as a few minutes after entering the lounge, the screen showed the reporting a delay with the scheduled departure slipped from 10:55 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Unfortunately, no communication from the company and especially a lot of passengers "camped out" right after passport control to avoid making KM in the wrong direction.
Santa Priority Pass, although at Montale they definitely became more taxing and after 2h in they required to swipe the card again, as with a new entry.
Poor management by Neos
Wandering around the gates, I scouted out what Flightradar was giving me as the possible plane for my flight at gate B55, asking for clarification from the attendant present behind the gate counters I was confirmed that it was the intended car, but that it would probably be moved to the central pier, to B80.
All this while the screens kept flashing the delay, which rose to 1:30 p.m., and "waiting for gate."
No emails from the company, no announcements at the airport. Zero assistance. In contrast, a lot of carriers in these cases send updates on apps, via email and various notifications.
Choice of place and services "unclear"
The difference of Neos' fittings compared to Norse is that the PE cabin is definitely smaller, there are only 16 seats, but then there are three types of economy: Extra Plus, Extra and normal.
In my case I had paid to choose a place in Extra Plus, I thought it was just a seat in the front and instead it is a "slightly" different service than the other sections, which also includes Fast Track and some pampering on board.
Too bad my boarding pass didn't say anything about fast track and the dedicated lane at the airport didn't have turnstiles open except for After showing my Platinum American Express. This, too, is a serious communication flaw for the passenger who pays for a service but has no conunction about what products are bought.
Chaos at the gate before Neos boarding.
A few minutes before the official announcement came, I then headed into Malpensa's central pier, just in time before the 340 or so passengers arrived.
Here Zero guidance on how to get in line, no division by groups although there was an indication on the boarding passes. And ready to go all lined up as if to ride the rides at Gardaland, but in this case I do not feel I can blame the passenger. The attendants then tried, amidst the nervousness of those in line, to divide according to groups, but this should have been done earlier and with signage, ads (or screens) in order to avoid controversy.
In the end, however, it was pure anarchy, the line of Group 1 multiplied and magically newly arrived people were being let through before others, all this without even having opened pre-boarding to PRMs, families with children or other categories.
Only one door for embarking and disembarking
I had chosen to spend about 60€ surcharge, for the choice of place, just to have the convenience of landing among the first, but at both MXP and JFK the procedures only happened through the second door, with only one bridge, this means that PE passengers will disembark much later than economy Extra passengers without considering economy passengers who "bully" out even though the staff says to wait.
On board
The setup is always 3-3-3 for all but premium economy passengers who have a 2-3-2.
I also have no idea if the legroom in the Extra Plus rows is the same or different than in the rest of the cabin, but the feeling is that they are a few inches more generous than I remember.
I took a seat and there was already a blanket, a pillow, a small amenity kit, and IFE headphones at the place.
In addition to the 2.5-hour delay, and despite the fact that the plane had been at gate B55 for hours, once on board still had to be refueled and the cargo hold loaded, they probably feared they would not be able to complete maintenance otherwise it is not explained why they waited until the last minute for these procedures. This resulted in a wait on board of almost 60 minutes and a departure from Milan almost 3 hours late.
The session
The chair does not have any kind of difference from classic economy seating, only small advantage the window side armrest can be easily raised and this gives a little bit more living space.
The leg space is the classic one, the storage pouch is only one, and the coffee table is one piece, there is no ammenicule such as a glass holder or tablet/phone holder.
The screen is small and not great resolution when compared to what other carriers, for example ITA offers on its long-haul Airbuses.
The chair reclines the bare minimum, let's say it is so little that you hardly feel the difference.
Service
Not knowing that economy Extra Plus provided all those benefits, I was surprised to find a small amenity kit on the seat.
Inside the envelope the inflatable neck pillow, face mask and earplugs.
In addition to this, a welcome drink was served in a paper cup. Hot towel, on the other hand, was not received.
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Throughout the flight the crew was present and ultra-smiling. The peculiarity I noticed is the average age, definitely low, of everyone on board.
Too bad that when I rang the bell the assistant arrived in just over 30″, but then to receive what I ordered (a can of Fanta) took almost 30 minutes!!!
Just before landing I went to the bathroom, let's say more than acceptable situation, but here it is often the fault of us passengers and not just the crew.
At the end of the meal a treat was served, say the size of a chocolate, I had never seen such small wafers.
IFE
Screen, as mentioned, small. Resolution not the most modern and interface really basic.
Most disappointing, however, is the content. Nothing new, or rather nothing that could be considered "new" since the latest arrivals included titles such as Mad Max, Barbie, Oppenhimer stuff that on the other companies came out in January 2024!!!
Great that the headphones are already in place, much less that the IFE is not immediately usable. For the first time in my life then I found the report that headphones are only given on the outbound flight and that one must remember to take them with him when he returns. I used, as usual, my bluetooth adapter. And my airpods max.
Wi-fi at a price, fair, but signal too erratic. Sure 19.90 for the whole flight is a great price, but too often I was losing connection.
Food & Beverage
A few turns of phrase, a disappointment (almost) across the board. Not only questionable quality, but also and especially absurd and inexplicable choices.
- No choice is given, The menu is fixed or eat this soup or diet.
- No soft drinks are served with meals, this had never occurred to me
The service started about 60 minutes after takeoff. Passengers are handed a tray. My understanding is that the medu is fixed: from Milan they get pansotti with sauce, from New York they get lasagna.
In the tray in addition to the main dish also a salad, a treat, two mini breadsticks, a cardboard with water. Real cutlery and a hand bag.
Not even bread is given, I personally have no memory of a meal on an airplane without bread/butter. Here only a packet of grits to put on pasta eventually.
The ernao paste 3 panserotti covered with a shovelful of tomato paste, it was not a sauce it was a really stomach-churning "mappazzone."
Questionable, but here it depends on taste, the salad while the cupcake although it seemed a tad behind in cooking, was passable.
What is shocking is the Zero soda policy during the meal. From the trolley you can choose from water, wine, beer, iced tea and fruit juices. Now I say we are Italian, but orange juice at the meal with panserotti is just not to be seen.
I then asked to buy a soda and was told that I could buy it at the end of the meal, when in-flight duty free was being activated!!! now I wish some marketing genius would explain this choice. Even British Airways and Lufthansa manage to sell while doing the service, I'm not saying the low-costs who are masters at this.
Why can't I drink a Coke while I'm eating? Why do I have to wait 3 hours to have it?
With about 90 minutes to go a pinsa is served, although it has little to no Roman pinsa. Again, no soda, no hand-wipe and only one napkin for a greasy, hot product, and no SADDLES. My neighbor asked for them and the answer was "They are not provided."
In conclusion
At this price I would absolutely not buy it back Given so much competition from Milan to New York. Keeping out of the tussle Emirates, which with its A380 is the absolute best economy in the world, the three American are definitely better in many ways: IFE, wi-fi in some cases even the food, but especially in the terminal and speed of getting out of the airport since to date T1 at JFK is the worst of all airports in the Big Apple.
If we then add to this the 3-hour delay. That, in fact, burned the first day of vacation for all passengers It was really a trip to forget.
Pro
- I can't think of anything
Against
- All or most