Larry_M

After taking our son (age 25) on his first European sojourn a couple of years ago, he's been bit by the travel bug. He's taking his girlfriend to Italy in June, and I'm having a good time helping him plan.

He was originally looking to fly round-trip Philadelphia - Rome, but they are ending their trip in Milan, so I thought it would make more sense to depart from Malpensa rather than eat up the final day training back to Rome. I actually tried to talk him out of Milan altogether, but his girlfriend is in the fashion industry, and absolutely must go there.

Continental's fare for Newark - Rome and Milan - Newark is currently $1,035 per person. Since their dates are not flexible, I didn't think this was a bad price to book now. Can any of our airfare experts weigh in on how good a deal this is?

Thanks

Michael

Have you checked with Kayak.com?

Larry_M

Michael - Yes, I've checked a number of consolidators. The lowest fares were virtually the same, still over $1,000 per person, and they all have at least one stop.

Viajero2

That is an outrageous price for Philly-Rome-Milan -Philly. Is this USAirways???? Are they flexible o dates? How much is RT FCO?

Viajero2

forgot to suggest get your son & companion to London where they might be able to get a cheap hub to Rome on one of those intra-Europe airlines (i.e. Easyjet, etc...)

rbnwdln

Try calling AerLingus.

krisabug27

did you try...
1800flyeurope.com
bt-store.com
studentuniverse.com (not sure if they are students?...until midnight tomorrow it's $50 off all international flights)

i am flying out of dc into paris and out of rome in may/june and these are the 3 sites where i found the best prices (under $750)

but i would advise not waiting too much longer to buy the tickets...we bought our tickets like 2 weeks ago for the end of may/beginning of june and since then prices have gone up like $100 a piece

amwosu

I always start at www.itasoftware.com. when I looked there for the 30 day period (see this option in top right corner) of June I found a couple of off peak days where you can fly R/T Newark to Rome nonstop for $988 including all taxes. Not exactly what you are looking for but....

wliwl

I do not think this is an outrageous price. It might seem a little high, but I think Italy is more expensive to fly to than some cities. And you really do want to go openjaw. That alone will save you some money.

RufusTFirefly

That is terribly high out of Newark. But some people seem to be eager to snap up tickets at high prices--even 5, 6, or 7 months in advance. I guess the fuel cost situation has many people spooked.

Between the fuel situation and people's willingness to pay a lot more than in the past, I don't know that anyone can predict what's going to happen this year.

Maybe we'll drive up to New England and Canada this summer.

Intrepid1

The price to be paid obviously also depends on the DATES in June and, unfortunately, we don't know what those are.

If you have checked with both consolidators and aggregators and the dates are not flexible and this is the best fare you can get, I would disregard the high dudgeon, "outrage" incredulity and all the other "emotions" being voiced here, at least one of which was obviously designed to make you feel like a jerk "for paying high prices" (as if something cheaper is going to roll in) make the reservations and worry about more important requirements.

Tell your son and his girlfried that at least one of us here said, "Have a great trip" and Thanks, Dad, for helping out, too.

RufusTFirefly

I don't know that jerk would be an appropriate word.

Each of us has to decide for himself what something is worth to us.

WillTravel

Take a look at http://www.euroflyusa.com/ although you won't be able to open-jaw to Milan.

tuscanlifeedit

Are you watching USAirways out of Philadelphia? They can take you out of Milan; we've done it. I can't speak for the fares, but you could add them to your watch list.

Larry_M

Thanks for all of your replies. I hedlooked at most of the sites mentioned by others here, except for euroflyusa.com, which I just checked, and the dates are very limited ... looks like you can only travel on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Their dates are departing June 15, returning June 25.

Larry_M

When I go on these consolidator websites, in many cases the initial selections that come up look great - acceptable routes for $200 - $250 less than the Continental fare per person. But without exception, when I continue the process toward booking, these cheaper fares come back as "sold out" or "not available", and I can't get anything open jaw for less than $1,000 per person, plus at least one stop. So I think we'll just go ahead and book the Continental non-stop and be done with it.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Now I can get back to planning my own May trip to Provence and Piemonte!

lanz

Good work and effort on your part Larry. I think you are great for trying to help out so much! It can really be a frustrating experience...have fun on your own trip!

bradykp

I know june is pretty pricy, it's unfortunate he can't travel earlier (april/may?).

i'm going in march....AA out of JFK to milan connecting in brussels. returning British Airways out of Naples - London, airport change in london (4.5 hour layover), and AA back to JFK.

$451 round trip.

Viajero2

I am going to Nice late May; prices started hiking up ($800/pp). No way I'll pay that amount of money. I am leaving one day earlier; the price came down $150/pp.

That's the reason I think paying $1,000+ is outrageous.

Larry-- did you looked into the fly into London-connect IntraEurope flight?

Larry_M

Viajero2 - Yes, I looked into going through London as well ... over $900 per person just for the Philadelphia - London leg was the best I could find. From Newark, $777/per person, but it gets pretty messy from London to Rome, and back again from Milan ... arrive at Heathrow, but have to get to Gatwick to depart, etc. And still probably another $150 to $200 PP. So to save maybe $100 or so doesn't seem worth it.