teacherCanada

We will be a school group totalling approximately 47 people. We will be travelling from Rome to Athens and are presently scheduled for the Superfast Ferry from Bari to Patras. I am wondering if anyone knows if we could book a charter airplane to take us on this leg of our trip? Could you estimate the cost or provide me with a link to someone somewhere who might be able to answer this novel question. Our trip is scheduled for March 2011, so there is time for adjustments, but I do like to plan ahead. With thanks.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions on how to nail a large number of cheaper seats on scheduled airlines flying between Rome and Athens, I would love to hear from you too.

tC

LoveItaly

I sure wish I could answer your question, teacherCanada. I had an Italian friend in Milan that did handle charter flights but sadly we lost him a few years ago. But no doubt there is "someone" that could assist you and hopefully you will receive an answer.

LoveItaly

TeacherCanada, if you go to Google and search for Rome to Athens Charter flights you will see some websites that might or might not of course, be of interest to you.

Gardyloo

Generally people charter aircraft for the convenience, not for cost-savings; the exception being when you have 200+ people and can justify a wide-body.

Couple of leads - Titan is a big UK charter company; their BAe 146 would be a good fit for your group - http://www.titan-airways.com/passeng...bae-146-200-qc.

Airitaly also operates charters - site is mainly in Italian but I'm sure they'd respond to an email. http://www.airitaly.it/site/charterFlights.php?l=2

Do you have a big travel agency handling the trip? If so, hit them with this question.

I've chartered a lot of air taxis but not for that big a group. From the BAE website, their published operating costs for a 700-mile sector, with plugs for flight and ground staff, etc. (including fuel, capital cost amortization, flight crew etc.) are listed at US$4850. A charter operator would probably want half again that amount, plus an amount (50%?) of the same money for the deadhead return trip, so a total back-of-the-envelope ballpark guess would be that $10,000 would get it done. With 50-something pax, that works out to around $200 a head.

Of course I could be off by a huge amount there, but I'd compare that to $82 one way on Olympic Airlines from FCO to ATH, or $140 for Alitalia.

teacherCanada

LoveItaly - It is good to read your voice again. Thanks for your support. I have done a little bit of background work, but this message board has absolutely stunned me a few times in the past with spot-on answers. I thought I would give it a try. Sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. I hope when you thought of him you had the most pleasant of memories.

Gardyloo - Thank you so much for the leads. I will pursue them and see if it is worth our while. We do have a travel agency doing the logistics of our trip. I like to do a little background work before I ask them to step up to the plate. This way they can't try to pull a fast one on me. If I am knowledgeable, it makes them need to be even more knowledgeable. I don't try to be cocky or a know-it-all, just well informed. I can find out our costs for the ferry, plus coach costs from Rome to Bari and coach costs for Patras to Athens. If I can balance total costs for the options it makes it easier to decide which option serves our needs better.

Ideally, we would be able to snag some cheapo flights from Rome to Athens, but I'm not sure we could get 47 of them on one plane.

dfr4848

I belong to a group that has a conference in Europe each spring. We've gotten some really good group rates on scheduled carriers (like BA and LH). I know you're asking about intra Europe flights, but I'd check out some of the regular airlines that fly that route like Aegean, Alitalia and easyjet and see what group rates you might get. Most websites have a number to call for group sales.

NoFlyZone

Assuming the aircraft have more than 47 seats total, you should have no trouble whatsoever booking that many seats. It is commonplace.

You are far in advance and if you prepay and guarantee nonrefundable, any airline would be pleased to take the deal.

I hope you are working with a professional travel agent or tour operator on such a trip...

teacherCanada

dfr4848 - Thank you for your response. We will certainly check for low rates and specials with airlines that cater to this area. I will ask our agent to pursue the group sales aspect.

NoFlyZone - Thanks for your quick response and optimism. We hope that by planning so far in advance we will be able to get the best value for our student's hard earned money. We are working with an certified travel agent and I have faith the agency will be able to meet our needs. I do try to "think outside the box" in order to view all alternatives available to us.

tC

socaltraveler

I also think you could get 47 seats on a plane from Rome to Athens, but this is also what I think a travel agent should be used for. 47 seats this far out does not sound that unreasonable to me.

LoveItaly

Thank you, teacherCanada. Beautiful memories indeed. And do you know what his favorite saying was? It was "it cost nothing to ask!". So I smiled when I read your thread here and on the Europe Forum as he would have certainly approved of your seeking information. Best regards and good wishes to you.

teacherCanada

LoveItaly and others - I just want to respond to let you know what we have found out. I have contacted several of the charter companies but received an answer from only bluestarjet. It appears the cost of a charter aircraft from Rome to Athens is close to $40000 USD. This puts the idea outside our price range. But now I know this, we can pursue the options that are more price sensitive to our needs. LoveItaly - you friend was right. It cost nothing to ask.

Thank you to everyone who has helped out and allowed me to focus more clearly on our tasks ahead.

tC

LoveItaly

Best wishes teacherCanada, and knowing you from your other posts I am sure you will work out a great and affordable flight! $40,000.00USD, all I can say is "oh my!". And our dear Franco would have said "a problem!", lol.