Hello there, I am planning a honeymoon to Italy for June 13 or so and so far the cheapest airfare I can find is over $1000.00...that seems a bit high to me, but is that what I should expect to pay for that time of year? I am flying from Newark, NJ or Philly into Rome and hoping to fly home from a different airport, will it cost me a lot more to do that?

No, often "open jaws" tickets do not cost significantly more (if at all).

If I were you, I'd think seriously about waiting for at least a few weeks. If you are considering the flight from Philadelphia, I assume you are thinking USAir. It's about 50/50 at best that they are even around next year. The same goes for Alitalia.

If you don't want to wait, then I'd suggest you just pay the cost for someone like Continental.

In terms of flying into and out of different airports and the cost, it really depends.

I was about to book an expedia package to Paris for March of 2005 that includes airfare on US Air.

Based on Ryan's post, should I reconsider?

Tough call Newesttraveler. Before booking any kind of tour involving a USAir flight, I'd understand from the tour company EXACTLY what their contingency plans are if USAir goes out of business.

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning that quoted several airline industry analysts as saying that USAir will have a tough time avoiding liquidation on this, its second bankruptcy filing. They need major concessions from their unions and they need their creditors to agree to those concessions are it will liquidate as both TWA and PanAm ultimately did.

Honestly, I'd either suggest you wait or book the tour but ask for another airline option.

Being owed money or services by a bankrupt company can get really dicey and you have a risk of not getting your money back.

Are you able to fly out of JFK in New York? I plugged in June 15 as a departure date and June 30 as a return date on the British Airways site and got a price of $921.71. If you wish, you can book open jaws flights on the BA Web site. Opinions on when to book may differ, but I think you could safely wait a bit. BA announces specials from time to time. Check the site regularly and if a good deal turns up, grab it.

Maybe someone who flew that this year can tell you what they paid, but $800-$1000 wouldn't be at all unusual for peak summer fares to Italy. I paid almost $900 RT this summer just East Coast to Paris (and back), nonstop. Fares were very high. Rome is always higher than London or Paris.

The open jaws thing isn't the problem, it's Italy in summer. Of course it's too early to get really accurate quotes.

You may want to check on flights to London and then one of the discount airlines to Italy. You should save money and a chance to spend time in London, even briefly. I flew California to London in Feb for $500 and then on to Rome for $70 RT (Ryan Air) Of course, the fares are cheaper in winter, but it would be cheaper to fly to London than to Italy. Ryan Air's website - ryanair.com will have more info. Also, a great website for budget travel within Europe is whichbudget.com

I would avoid USAIR.It is not worth the risk.

I may be spoiled flying out of NY where there's more competition, but that price sounds outrageous. I would sign up for some "fare watchers" on travelocity and anywhere else that makes sense and wait a while. (You can pick several routes so pick Phil and EWR. They then email you when fares go up or down).

I agree,USAir is not worth the risk for a honeymoon.

This is a consolidator website a regular poster here, Ira, uses for tickets

http://www.itasoftware.com/

I tried checking it for you but couldn't get results. It may just be too early.

As rj007 says, your other option is flying to London and taking one of the lowcost carriers between London and Italy. Whichbudget.com or skyscanner.net are 2 of the websites that provide info many of the low cost inter Europe carriers. BTW, I can't see the benefit to treking to JFK for a $900 fare unless it's the only way to get non stop flights and you don't mind the drive. How long is the trip and how many stops do you hope to make in Italy?

itasoftware.com is not a consolidator site, and you can't book from them. It's a database service that many airline uses to post and track their inventory. Using results from that site, you can then go to the airline's own website or a travel agent to get the fares.

For mid-June travel, 6/13-14 are more expensive for some reason. 6/15 on British Airways from EWR is $892 to FCO, 6/12 is $922. PHL is $2 more in each case.

If you want to fly non-stop, then CO has the lowest price right now, from EWR of course. And it's financially stronger than USAirways or Alitalia.

But I do think that even for mid-June travel, those prices are still a little high, and is unlikely to go any higher. Therefore there's really no point booking them right now, and you should wait a little (till Feb or so) and see if there's any fare sale.

I should have done my homework. I didn't realize that British Airways also flies out of Philadelphia. When I put in the same dates (June 15 & June 30) as I did for JFK, I got a price of $923 for Philly-Rome. However, judging from what others have written, it looks like we agree that you would do well to wait for a possible sale.

Hello! I'm planning my honeymoon to Italy as well (congratulations!!) We're planning to leave May 31.

I have found a tremendous difference in price depending on the day you leave. We are getting married on a Sunday, and have found a big price difference between leaving Monday and Tuesday (Tuesday is cheaper). Also, right now, flights are cheaper to Rome. In fact, leaving NYC on a Tuesday to Rome costs around $700.

I would also wait a bit and be on the lookout...right now, it seems a lot of the airlines are focusing on discounts and deals in the spring, so I'm hoping summer will come up soon! Alitalia had a big sale last year around February, I think.

Good luck!

In high season, you're probably going to have to pay between $800-1000 between the East Coast and Rome. But I think you have some time to spare.

Keep your eyes open for fare sales, and if you dont' find any, think about booking your trip in a few months.

Also check out fares connecting in and out of London or Dublin. We've flown to Italy from London many times, and were able to shave a few hundred dollars off each ticket by doing it this way. I also just read that Aer Lingus is matching the low cost carrier prices from Dublin to many other cities in Europe, so you may find a great fare if you're willing to make the extra stop.

Good luck, and congratulations!

Keep in mind competition affects prices. Most likely Alitalia will not be around when you travel, therefore less incentive for other airlines like Continental to run sale fares