European LCC easyJet and Milan-based airline Neos have agreed to a partnership in which easyJet will operate routes to feed the Italian carrier’s long-haul services to New York and the Dominican Republic.

From 16 June, easyJet will operate flights from Italian cities Catania (CTA), Naples (NAP) and Palermo (PMO) to Milan Malpensa (MXP), where passengers will be able to connect on the same itinerary to Neos flights destined for New York Kennedy (JFK) and La Romana (LRM) in the Dominican Republic.

Neos, which gained permission last year from the US Transportation Department to begin scheduled service to the US, operates the MXP-JFK route 2X-weekly using a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

“This is currently an initial trial phase designed specifically for a small number of routes in order to validate and improve the integration and flow exchange processes between the easyJet and Neos systems, a necessary step to further improve the collaboration between the two airlines,” the carriers said in a joint statement, adding that “the aim is to further extend the collaboration including other routes and destinations.”

The airlines said the cooperation “will increase passenger influx, enabling Neos passengers to reach a wider range of Italian destinations by taking advantage of easyJet's extensive network in Italy. Thanks to this partnership, customers will have the possibility to easily collect their luggage at the end of their journey directly at the destination airport.”

Lorenzo Lagorio, easyJet country manager for Italy, said: "We are excited to launch this partnership with Neos, which allows us to broaden the range of connections from Italy to an increasing number of destinations around the world.”

Neos commercial director Aldo Sarnataro added that the pact with easyJet “enables us to introduce a new element to our business, further expanding connections to and from Milan Malpensa and allowing us to offer a wider and more flexible long-haul service for incoming leisure tourism.”