BARI (ITALPRESS) – Starting June 3, 2025, Neos will enrich its offer of international flights with a new direct route connecting Bari-Palese “Karol Wojtyla” airport to New York JFK.This is another growth opportunity for the airline part of Alpitour World, which with the new route diversifies and further increases its scheduled business.The flight will operate until October 15, 2025 and will operate once a week with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner configured with two classes of service (Premium and Economy) and equipped with a total of 355 seats.The aircraft will depart from New York every Tuesday at 4 p.m. (local time) and land in Bari on Wednesday at 8 a.m., from where it will depart the same day at 11:30 a.m., arriving in New York at 1:50 p.m.With this new connection, Neos expands its network to North America, where it has already been present since 2021 with three weekly frequencies on the Milan Malpensa-New York route and, from April 2023, with a non-stop flight from Malpensa to Toronto. In addition, from June to October 2024, the airline has introduced the Palermo-New York direct flight with two weekly frequencies, which has already been reconfirmed for the new year, and which has performed very well. “The announcement of the Bari-New York direct flight is the crowning achievement of an extraordinary year for Aeroporti di Puglia. A year full of successes and milestones that have allowed us to consolidate our position as a strategic hub for Southern Italy,” said Antonio Maria Vasile, President of Aeroporti di Puglia. “This flight does not come by chance. We wanted, planned and built it with determination so that it would represent a further concrete step toward a new phase of international growth. In recent years our strategic vision has always traveled in the right direction: to make Puglia an increasingly accessible and connected region to the rest of the world. To think that in a few months in Bari we will see the 787-900 Dreamliner land and take off in a 355-seat configuration, makes us realize the majesty of the event in which we have believed from the beginning. We celebrate an achievement that is only the beginning. This, in fact, is the first flight that launches us into the world, but I can already anticipate that others will follow, further expanding the opportunities for our territory and for those who choose Puglia as a destination. Our goal is clear: to continue to invest in new routes and infrastructure to transform the Apulian airport system into an engine of economic, tourism and social development, at the service of citizens and businesses,’ he added. ‘We are building the future of Apulia: a future of connections, opportunities and dreams come true.’We strongly believe in the potential of the Apulian market, which in recent years has carved out a leading role for itself in the national airport scene. The number of passengers at the Apulian airports is growing steadily, and our goal is to carry about 12,700 travelers in the first year of operation,” said Carlo Stradiotti, Neos CEO. “After the connection that linked Sicily to the United States, we are further expanding our connections with New York, serving another important Italian region. Thanks to this new flight, we will have a daily offer from New York to Italy with three frequencies from Milan, two from Palermo and one from Bari, helping to significantly develop leisure and business flows between the two countries ‘. “The Bari-New York is much more than an air link – said the President of the Puglia Region, Michele Emiliano – it is a dream that takes flight, an embrace between Puglia and the world, a bridge that unites traditions, affection and opportunities. After an extraordinary year for Aeroporti di Puglia marked by historic milestones such as the blowing out of 40 candles, exceeding ten million passengers and the program agreement of more than 218 million euros, we celebrate an achievement that makes our region even more of a protagonist at the international level. This flight is not only for those who dream of discovering about Puglia, but also for the many Apulians living in New York and the United States, who will be able to return home more easily to rediscover their roots and re-embrace their families. It’s a flight that makes Puglia’s heart beat faster, because it brings cultures and communities closer together and testifies to our ambition to make this land a global destination that is increasingly accessible and desired. I thank Aeroporti di Puglia, Aldo Patruno and Councillors Ciliento and Lopane, for the work done. This achievement shows how working hard and synergistically in the same direction is the right key to achieving extraordinary successes. This is a proud moment for all of us, a strong signal that shows how investing in connections and infrastructure means investing in the future of our region. To the people of Puglia, I say: dream, travel, but above all, come back.’Puglia is a region with which the United States has always had a special bond,’ said Tracy Roberts-Pounds, U.S. Consul General in Naples.’More than eighteen million Americans proudly claim their Italian origins. Today, many of those Italian Americans dream of being able to visit the places of origin of their grandparents, or their great-grandparents, and have created a new market dedicated to roots tourism. The new direct flight between Bari and New York will certainly open up new opportunities in the tourism sector, but it will also be a further boost to support the positive energy and young talent that Puglia is rich in, and will help create new opportunities and prosperity for new generations ‘. ‘The Apulian airport network,’ said Apulia Region Transport Councillor Debora Ciliento, ‘once again proves to be an engine of development and ready to take on the role of strategic hub in the Mediterranean and connection point between Europe and the world. In fact, each new international route contributes to strengthening the accessibility of our territory, facilitating not only tourist flows, but also commercial and cultural relations. I want to emphasize how this achievement is the result of a clear vision and continuous investment in airport infrastructure, supported by an important program agreement. We are determined to continue on this path, increasingly strengthening our transport network and making Puglia an example of connectivity and innovationè.’This connection,’ said Apulia Region Tourism Councillor Gianfranco Lopane, ‘represents a formidable tool to position our region among the most desired destinations internationally. This flight not only facilitates the arrival of American travelers, who are increasingly attracted by Puglia’s beauty, culture and traditions, but also strengthens our ability to dialogue with a strategic market such as the United States. The objective is to consolidate the image of Puglia in the world, but above all to intercept a quality and increasingly global tourism, capable of generating value for the territory and its communities. “Today,” said the Director of the Apulia Region Tourism Department, Aldo Patruno, “we are giving an answer to what emerged from an accurate analysis of tourist flows and the dynamics of the U.S. market, which we believe to be one of the most relevant and growing for our territory. In fact, the United States represents a target market for Puglia, characterized by high-spending tourism and a growing interest in the distinctive elements of Puglia’s offer: history, culture, traditions and food and wine. From a technical point of view, the integration of this connection with regional strategies will make it possible to optimize the multiplier effect on the territory: from a stronger internationalization of tourist flows, to the lengthening in time and space of the season, to the enhancement of identity events dedicated to Apulian communities abroad.Flights will be available at www.neosair.it for the Italian market, www.neosair.com for the American market and through Neos sales offices in New York. In addition, they will be distributed through the main OTAs to all Italian Travel Agencies, as well as on the American market through GSA APG and available on the Amadeus and Sabre GDSs.
– Neos press office photo -(ITALPRESS).
