sherhatfield

First off, I am kicking myself for not booking last week when the fare was $377 pp all taxes included for a December trip to Rome from BWI. By the time I sweet-talked my husband into it, the fare was gone. It rose sharply and now is just starting to come down. I came across this site on TripAdvisor (www.bt-store.com) and it picqued my curiosity. Reviews seem to be pretty good about the site, but I'm still a little leery about not booking directly with the airline.

That said, here is the itinerary this website has for my dates at a price of $421 pp:

12/3 Dep BWI 1:45pm Arr JFK 2:59pm (American Airlines)
Dep JFK 5:00pm Arr FCO 7:20am (Alitalia)

12/8 Dep FCO 10:15am Arr Toronto 2:15pm (Alitalia)
Dep Toronto 5:00pm Arr BWI 6:37pm (United)

A couple of red flags for me are: 1) Alitalia - I've only read not-so-good things about them. 2) Flying thru Toronto in December. More chance of weather delays I'm thinking.

So my question is: Would you consider flying this itinerary or just keep watching the airlines and hope the fare goes down to book directly with the airline? The cheapest flight option for those dates on Kayak is $530 with Delta. The whole reason I won this argument with my husband was that the fare was too good to pass up! We just got back from Paris & Amsterdam a few weeks ago, so this Rome trip is just to spend a little time there when the Christmas decorations are up and relax a bit. We've been to Rome twice before and love it. Two years ago we did a 4 night trip to Germany for the Christmas markets and had a great time - we don't mind flying over to Europe for just a short trip.

Your opinions are appreciated!

LJ

I wouldn't worry about the Toronto aspect: we rarely experience major snow that early in December (in fact, white Christmases are rare these days!)

Alitalia is always a tough decision-I assume its an Air Canada/Alitalia partnership (hence the TO connection?) That s/b a little reassuring for reliability/ financial stability. Our personal experience with Alitalia in and out of TO to Rome have always been just fine, so I am one of the "go for it" gang!

NYCTS

I think $421 is a steal, even in December.

Unfortunately, Alitalia has earned its reputation. I hear changes are in the works but I avoid them because of their track record. Service with a smile is very important to me.

Yet, hundreds of thousands fly them daily. If I had no choice and Coach was my only option, I'd grin and bear it if I really wanted to go.

As for weather, it's always a gamble. I fly a lot and I find summer weather to be more problematic. Snow storms seem to be no big deal these days. I've flown through and landed in quite a few.

sherhatfield

Thanks for your replies! I feel better about the possibility of flying thru Toronto now.

((Cue internal debate of buy now or wait another day to see what the fare does!))

NYCTS

I'm not sure why $45 would require a "debate." Customers are much better off if the airlines they fly are successful. It takes money to maintain a fleet. In these financial hard times, it's impossible to predict when airfares for specific routes will be reduced. $370 reminds me of post 9/11 Coach fares and the planes were empty. Yes, people are losing their jobs but planes to Europe aren't empty these days. (But they probably will be the first week of December.)

sherhatfield

It isn't the $45 that is the debate, it is more of my comfort level of booking with a consolidator (or whatever this travel agency is). If I could book directly with the airline I'd feel better. Maybe it is unfounded, but I worry that if, say, there was a problem with my first flight being delayed and I missed my connecting flight, then I'd have to deal with the travel company to rebook which could be harder than going straight to the airline. Would that not be the case?

NYCTS

<i><font color=blue>"If I could book directly with the airline I'd feel better."</font></i>

That may be a valid concern. I don't use consolidators. However, I wouldn't hesitate calling Alitalia to see if they can offer this itinerary (at the same price or better) or offer you a better itinerary at the same price.

Connecting flights can be problematic. I try to avoid them as much as possible. But I do fly Air France a lot and connecting is often part of a Paris/Rome itinerary. Maybe someone can help you with an answer to your multiple airline itinerary.

nytraveler

No - I woudn't touch them with a barge pole. We only do nonstops - unless there is absolutely no other choice. Much less chance of arriving in eruope without your luggage.

CallmeKate

Alitalia popped out with the least expensive fares to Italy when I looked this week. However, they had so many labor problems/cancelled flights last year that I would choose another alternative.

sherhatfield

Thanks everyone! Given my hesitations with this Alitalia/itinerary/consolidator thing, I'm going to see what happens with prices directly from the airlines. Especially for a short trip like this, I don't want to take any chances just to save some money.

If it is meant to be, it will happen!

dfr4848

sher - probably good decision. Alitalia's finances aren't the issue/concern they used to be since a chunk was sold to KLM-AF, but in the short term their service issues/plane issues/labor issues aren't likely to improve. And we've found that we can almost always get as good a fares directly with the airlines after checking with site like kayak.com, although I've not used the bt-store site you asked about - and I'm always more comfortable dealing with the airlines directly (especially is a connection is required).

travelfan1

My two cents - seeing that you're flying out of BWI - is it possible for you/have you checked into flying from Philly? USAir flys direct into Rome, alleviating the need to worry about weather and/or layovers. I know many fodorites don't like USAir, however we've flown this route twice without any problems and will do so again next spring. I'll choose a direct flight any day over a layover.

Have a wonderful trip!

sherhatfield

travelfan1 - Yes, I usually fly out of PHL, IAD or DCA depending on whomever is cheapest with the best itinerary. I'd much rather have a nonstop flight. I'm still checking those cities but my husband would rather fly out of BWI this time since winter weather may impact the drive to the airport. It's my addiction to Italy that is making me consider a connection!

Currently the PHL-FCO USairways flight is $592. Not bad, but the only way I convinced my husband to take this trip was because the fare was $300-something. Believe me, if that airfare from last week comes back, I'm jumping on it right away!

travelfan1

Sherhatfield,

Good luck with your search. I've starting checking prices for our trip at the end of April and was shocked when I saw prices under $700 for that time of year. They've since gone up. I hope you have a wonderful trip...and about your addiction - maybe we should join a support group!

MichaelT

Here's something you might want to think about sher.

December 8 is a holy day in Italy (Day of the Immaculate Conception) and if you could extend your trip by 1 day, you could stay to witness it. I was in Rome for it two years ago and out of a dozen trips to Rome, that alone was the most memorable day I've ever experienced in that city.

It starts early in the morning with the ceremonial placing of the wreath on the statue of the Virgin Mary near the Spanish Steps. All day long, churches and groups make walking journeys to the statue to place their offerings (tens of thousands of flowers and wreaths) and at 4:00pm, the Pope makes his visit to the statue to bless the offerings and conduct a mass.

It's one of the rare days that the Pope moves through the streets of Rome from the Vatican to the Spanish Steps and it's also the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season for the people of Rome. Most of the afternoon and evening, the streets are filled (many closed) with people and all of the shops are open. It's quite an event to witness and if you could adjust your return by just one day, well worth it in my opinion.

TDudette

Have you checked the flights from Dulles (if that isn't too out of the way for you)?

Dayle

sherhatfield,

Personally, I never worry about missing a connection coming back - who cares? I only worry about connections getting me to Italy. Don't want to miss a day there!