Author: wanderer1
Date: 11/11/2007, 11:57 am
I am totally shocked at the airfare prices to Italy. One ticket is costing us almost as much as our entire week for an apartment in Positano!!

Anyway, I am still poking around, and if I go direct with the airlines, here are my choices BOS to NAP in May:

Alitalia - $1,119/pp
Delta - $1,279/pp
Lufthansa - $1,354/pp
United - $1,370/pp
Swiss Int'l - $1,420/pp

I have had bad luck the last couple times flying with Delta with cancelled/late flights.

Had OK luck with Alitalia last year flying to Rome.

Haven't flown either Swiss Int'l or Lufthansa and haven't flown United in a very long time. I hear Zurich is a great connecting airport, and given that plus a 10:45AM departure the day we return home vs 7am, I wonder if I should just bite the bullet and go Swiss Int'l. I DO worry about strikes with Alitalia.

I'm very tempted to do the Airfare.com ticket purchase, but am nervous about it - this from a person who bought a ticket to Japan through a consolidator - LONG story, eventually I got there, but had some hairaising moments! I'm not sure I want to put my DH who hates the flying part of travel worse than me through anymore than he has to!!

What are the chances with fuel prices they way they are that these fares will come down between now and May? Should I just book now?

I'm checking Kayak.com and all the sites you guys put me in touch with constantly, but I am really anxious about this whole thing.

I checked flying to Rome and taking the train, but there is no direct flight from BOS, only from NYC, and I really don't want to add one more complication with getting to NYC.

My husband swears he will never fly anywhere anymore that requires connections. It is a pain and adds more stress to the trip. Hopefully it will be worth it.

So, if it were you, which would you fly and why???

Apparently, you want little hassle and good/easy connections on a stable airline.

I'd choose between Lufthansa via Munich (MUC) and Swiss Intl via Zurich (ZRH).

The fares you're seeing aren't good, meaning they won't go higher. So, there's no reason to book right now. Wait and check fares often and if they come down, book it. If not, then just wait until at least February and then book at that time - it won't much higher than right now.

Thank you. VERY helpful comments.

What are thoughts on using a discounter?

I can get the exact same Swiss Int'l flight through Airfare.com for $981/pp.

What dangers are there in doing so and why the huge difference between Airfare.com and the airlines??

There's little risk. The existence of the lower fares simply mean Swiss doesn't want to load those more "realistic" fares onto reservation system right now, and would rather sell through consolidators. Just check the refund/cancellation penalties. If you care about FF miles, ask what fare codes those tickets are, and then check with your FF program to see if they earn miles or not. [Most do.]

Aside from the refund/cancellation penalties, I was worried that say our connection is late into Zurich, and we miss our connecting flight.

Would Swiss Int'l be less inclined to help re-route us since our ticket was not purchased through them?

Or would we have to try and reach Airfare.com to make the change to a new flight?

That is what I am worried about.

Swiss will take care of you just as you've bought from them directly, in the case of a misconnect. No difference.

Just make sure the fare is all in.

Are taxes, fees and most importantly, fuel surcarges included in the airfare.com fare?

Once you check in with an airline, they "take over" the ticket and they will take care of any problems. If something happens before you check in, then you have to deal with the travel agent/consolidator to adjust/fix/change, etc..

Oh, I almost forgot. There IS a non-stop flight from the US to NAP. It's from JFK, by Eurofly. But it's seasonal (summer only), and not daily (2-3 times a week).

They're not selling tickets for next summer right now, so you have to wait. But that's an alternative.

My barber flew the Eurofly flight home to Positano this past summer and loved it!

If it were me, I'd fly on Iberia into Rome (BOS-MAD-FCO) - $856 for many May dates - and take the train. There are trains to Termini with easy connections to Naples, takes around 2.5 hours.

>>>Aside from the refund/cancellation penalties, I was worried that say our connection is late into Zurich, and we miss our connecting flight.

Would Swiss Int'l be less inclined to help re-route us since our ticket was not purchased through them?<<<

You will get a ticket, and a ticket is a ticket, no matter, how you purchased that ticket.

If your transatlantic flight is late and you miss your connection (this can happen with every airline and every flight) then your carrier is obliged to book you on the next available flight. And here Swiss/Lufthansa is pretty good. First, they are very reliable. Second, they have many connections. And third, if nothing works, they will provide you with a good hotel (Hilton/Marriott etc.).

Alitalia will be different. Iberia also.

I forgot to mention: Swiss is a subsidiary of Lufthansa. Lufthansa/Swiss/United is Star Alliance. You will probably fly the on the same airplane.

how about flying into, say FRA and catching one of the cheap European airlines - I found BOS FRA for $666 RT om kayak and FRA NAP with TUIfly for 214.5 euros - comes out to about $970 total. Would have to play with connection times, but that might be an option. Don't know how those airlines interline, though - is interline the right term for ticketing on the same ticket and checking bags through?

Momliz - I think the OP's main interest is good connection, no hassle, no risk. Not necessarily the cheapest price.

Correct.

I always feel that nonstop from the states to Italy is the way to go-you feel better when you get there to!