$492 fare Boston to Rome next FEB. Good Deal?
 

I am planning on taking a vaction next year during president's week to Rome Italy, and spend a day or two in Torino. Is $492 roundtrip airfare a good deal, or should I wait it out and luckly find something cheaper?

I'd wait. I can fly for cheaper than that from Seattle in the winter-last year I flew to Paris in March for $400 including all taxes, and I saw even cheaper deals this winter to Europe, including one to Rome on SAS during their annual winter sale for $249 (plus tax).

Check fares at all these sites:

www.mobissimo.com
www.onetravel.com
www.itasoftware.com
www.kayak.com

It's a pretty good price. I'd probably take it just becuase it might go up or down. While the winter is cheaper - if this flight fits well with your schedule, I'd go for it. It's certainly not bad fair. And if it goes down, it probably won't go down much more than $50-$100. I am assuming that $492 includes all taxes.

I'd probably consider waiting. We flew from St. Louis to Rome on a package deal in December that included 3 nights hotel for about $530 per person, and we just booked a flight from St. Louis to Paris for November for $330 per person.

If we can get fares like this from the midwest, I'm sure the fare will drop from Boston. You have plenty of time. I would just keep searching. You should find something cheaper.

Count me in the "bird in the hand" category. I'm not a big gambler, and a good fare in hand has more probably to cost you more. I flew to Rome from Boston (via Philly) last September for $475. I booked a year in advance, and never regretted it.

A couple of considerations:

1) Are your travel dates / accomodations flexible ?? A cheaper flight booked later may require specific arrival / departure dates, that may not coincide exactly with Presidents week.

2) Is the $492 fare for a direct flight ?? A cheaper flight may cost you in time or inconvenience of multiple legs.

3) Are you comfortable paying $492 ??

make that read " a good fare, in hand, has more of a probability of being the best price"

Is there a way to edit an existing post ????

I'd take it. You never know when you will have trouble getting tickets for those dates, which are always overbooked from Boston. It may never go much lower for availability on those dates.

I got $370 for Denver-Frankfurt last February about a year in advance, but in my experience it always costs me at least $70 more to fly to Rome. With fuel prices as they are, I think $492 is very reasonable.

I'm one of those who almost always argues for holding out on fares until about 6 weeks before departure (give or take 2 weeks), with the possibility that there will be sales along the way. I've benefited myself from using that approach. This far out, you'd think I'd still hold to that position. Well, the times they are a changin' and using previous experience, especially from the past 12 months, as a barometer may not work too well anymore.

The airlines have recently been adding surcharges for fuel costs, and stern competition which also had helped to put downward pressure on fares will soon be curtailed as the consolidation of struggling companies into fewer conglomerates becomes more common. It seems very likely that the low rates which characterized this last year (which were at a 20-year low) may not been seen again for a long while, if ever. $492 roundtrip to Rome in any event is a pretty good price (that is, if it includes all taxes and fees). It's of course always possible you could save a few dollars, but the situation now seems to dictate that you won't do much better. I don't pretend to be able to see the future, but the trends now seem to favor higher prices. When a reasonable fare appears, therefore, it may be prudent to consider it. The decision, as always, is up to you but this time, rather than counseling wait, I say : Take it.

Your day or two in Torino - - is this to coincide with the Winter Olympics? (I don't know for sure precisely what dates you mean by "President's week", nor when are what events for the Olympics) - - but I think that increased demand could drive up all fares to Italy, into all gateways, in February. If this fare/routing/times would suit your needs to a tee, you might want to go ahead and lock it in. Higher fares could ensue.

Best wishes,

Rex

tcreath:

Where did you get a fare from St. Louis to Paris for $330 r-trip in November? Was it part of a package deal. Does the fare include taxes, fess and surcharges?
I've been looking and that's exceptional.

Zola, I purchased the airfare through travelocity back in February. I used the "flexible dates" feature and plugged in St. Louis and Paris for October through November and found the fare that way. It took a little while of playing with it, but it paid off! That price does include all taxes and surcharges; the actual airfare was about $260 befor the taxes. Unfortunately I don't think that fare still exists. Out of curiousity I have tried to find a similar fare on travelocity and get nothing below $650. We are going to Florida in September and my airfare to Paris was actually cheaper!

Keep on searching. I think eventually the prices will start dropping again, even if its just a little.

Good luck!
Tracy

I flew to Florence and out of Rome from Washington DC in mid-late March this spring for $470 round trip. I looked at a number of sites before ordering my tickets in early December and did not find a better price.