Costa Cruises and Neos, an Italian airline which is part of Gruppo Alpitour, have announced a new three-year agreement, by vwhich Costa’s passengersdeparting from Italy will be able to travel on special flights operated by Neos taking them to their ports of embarkation for cruises in the Caribbean, Dubai and Northern Europe.

Under the deal, there will be a total of approximately 90,000 seats on Neos flights exclusively set aside for Costa Cruises during the three year-period 2016-2018. 

The Neos-Costa Cruises flights will connect the airports of Milan Malpensa, Verona, Bologna, Rome Fiumicino and Catania.

“The new agreement with Neos, an Italian partner we’ve been working with for some years now, marks the continued expansion of Costa Cruises’ fly&cruise formula, which is designed to truly meet the demands of our customers,” said Costa Cruises President Neil Palomba.  “It is confirmation of our great commitment and determination to offer excellent quality service epitomizing ‘Italy’s finest’, meaning innovation, style, comfort and attention to detail.”

Neos Ceo Carlo Stradiotti stated:  “For many years we’ve been partnering Costa Cruises and this new 3-year deal is a ground-breaking agreement between two companies who share the main aim of continuing to support and improve Italian tourism.  Our objective is to make Costa’s customers feel that they’re already on vacation as soon as they get to the airport, by offering them the best in terms of service, quality and comfort.”

Costa cruisers will be able to drop off their suitcases at the airport and not have to worry about them again, with delivery direct to their cabins on board ship. 

On long haul flights, in addition to Economy seating, there will also be places available in Premium class with bigger seats, in-flight entertainment on individual iPads where you can choose your own films, music and games, and quality dining with a selection of traditional Italian dishes.