5alive

My brother and I will be taking our dad to see the Czech Republic this fall. Dad is in his mid-70s. We'd like to minimize the number of flight changes for him.

Dad and I live in Oregon; my brother lives in Colorado. We'd like to fly together. Not sure if it would be best to fly from Denver or if my brother should backtrack to Portland. We would appreciate your thoughts on that.

The main advice I've gotten from local friends regarding the best PDX routes is a Delta code-share with KLM, flying direct to Amsterdam. I believe there is also a Lufthansa flight to Germany. Are there better/cheaper options from Denver?

We also thought about flying into Prague and home from Vienna or does that get really expensive to do? Thanks for any advice.

wally34949

Check www.kayak.com and www.itasoftware.com. It is better to connect in Europe than in the US. Consider Turkishairlines. United Airlines is having a lot of delayed flights this summer. Mine was delayed five hours. Budapest has some great deals. Good luck.

tripplanner001

Your options for international flights are limited in both Portland and in Denver. From either city you will need to make a connection in either a major hub in the U.S. (e.g. LAX, O'Hare, NYC) or in Europe (e.g. London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam). If your goal is to minimize the number of flights for your father but also to travel together, perhaps start taking a look at flight options from Portland and then thinking about whether your brother can ticket himself so that he connects at the same city you and your father are and continue the journey together. Usually it doesn't cost much more, and sometimes less, to open jaw (in your case, into Prague and our of Vienna). One suggestion may be to fly in and out of Munich, and then train Munich to Prague to Vienna and back. There are more options into and out of Munich. Happy planning!

DonTopaz

Portland is probably the better choice if you're looking to minimize transfers for your father. You'd fly on Delta on a flight from Portland to Amsterdam, then a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Prague. Alternatively, you could fly on Delta to JFK, then connect to a Delta flight to Prague. (Of the two, I'd suggest the Amsterdam connection.)

If you start in Denver, Lufthansa is going to be your choice, flying from Denver to Frankfurt and then connecting to Prague.

It would not be a problem to return from Vienna. Prices will tend to vary depending on how many seats have been sold to date on each flight, so you'll have to check various dates.

5alive

Thanks for everyone's replies. Probably won't fly from Denver given your input. Thanks also for the other options--JFK to Prague, Budapest and Munich ideas. The Munich idea sounds the most intriguing.

We plan to fly both ways mid-week to give us more choices of tickets and hopefully a better price.

I do look at Kayak. The problem I was having is that it gives you lots of options, but I wasn't sure which were the smartest options for our needs. Haven't tried itasoftware.com but will have a look. Whenever I can, I like to check those but buy off the airlines directly. Sometimes on domestic flights though, the third party vendor was better so I went that route--primarily on expedia and orbitz though. How important is it to buy directly from the airline for international flights? I will be buying travel insurance on this trip, if that helps.

Dukey1

Frankly, I would avoid JFK if at all possible due to potential delays, etc., but that's from my various personal experiences with that airport.

Munich is a big airport but IME it has always been much easier to deal with and thru than JFK. Amsterdam Schiphol is also large but a very efficient airport.

I would NOT buy ANY airline ticket from any outside supplies such as Expedia, etc., because if there are any difficulties whatsoever the airline is going to bump you right back TO your supplier for any problem resolutions.

Now, if the cost using a supplier is significantly cheaper than you have a decision to make.

kybourbon

>>>Haven't tried itasoftware.com but will have a look. Whenever I can, I like to check those but buy off the airlines directly.<<<

You can't book on ITA. When you find a flight you want on their website, you go to the airlines website and book. ITA software powers the searches of quite a few online travel agencies and airlines. If you become familiar with their site, you can search specific airlines (or airline alliances such as Skyteam for Delta and all their FF partners). You can also search a range of dates or for a month at a time and multiple airports at a time, but you need to know the airport codes.

In the departure, you can list Portland (PDX) and a couple of arrival airports such as Munich (MUC) and Prague (PRG). To search multiple airports at once, enter it like this:
MUC,PRG

If you want to limit the search to Delta and their Skyteam partners, click advanced routing codes (under destination) and enter like this (under both departure and destination):
/ alliance skyteam

Use the month search function and enter a number of days you want to stay or a range of days (12-14) and it will show you the lowest combos for those dates. You can also search specific dates and + or - 1-2 days. I always uncheck allow airport changes.

Be sure the flights you select allow enough time for changes. If you make a change in the US on the way over, I would allow 2 hours. International flights usually start boarding about an hour before departure. Ditto for arriving in a country and needing to change.

>>>I will be buying travel insurance on this trip, if that helps.<<<

If you buy and need to cover any pre-existing medical conditions, most require purchase within 15 days of any payments towards the trip.

sparkchaser

Flying from the West Coast to Central Europe is going to be a long haul no matter what. With that in mind, this is what I would do:

Air Canada PDX-PRG (via YYC and FRA). You overnight in Calgary so the it won't be a murderous day of travel.

Fly business class if possible because not only will your seats be more comfortable (Air Canada has THE best long haul service of any NA carrier) but you also get lounge access which may come in handy.