Airlines to Rome
 

I am flying from either Newark or Philadelphia to Rome---choices of airlines are US Air, Alitalia, or Delta. What experiences have your had? Any recommendations? Looking for a direct flight--at a reasonable rate.

Hi,

I've flown direct via alitalia for my honeymoon last year and found it to be a wonderful airline. They were nice, helpful. NOt overly friendly though. We got free movies in economy class. On the way back, I was not feeling well and they were kind enough to upgrade both my husband and I to business class which was FABULOUS, simply fabulous.

So my experience was a lot better than the average traveller =)

Hope that helps!
Natalie

If anyone is interested, you can get 2-for-1 in Alitalia Business Class with a World Elite MasterCard (no annual fee) or American Express Platinum (about a $400 annual fee).

Delta doesn't fly EWR-FCO, only from JFK. The DL flight you see is actually a codeshare operated by Alitalia.

The other airline that flies non-stop is Continental from Newark. It is less than daily in the winter, up to twice daily in the summer.

Sorry --yes Continental was also a choice

In November I flew Air France and made a connection thru paris to Rome. I loved it. Of course I was in Biz class and was treated like royalty.

On my return I flew Alitalia and I thought it was decent but not wonderful. Alitalia only flys 767s between Rome and Newark so the planes are a bit dated.

Also check out Alitalias baggage limits for carry on and checked luggage. They suck.

Alitalia now shows 777 on their summer schedule. Don't know exactly when the OP is flying. But with its financial situation, I think I would pick another airline unless they're significantly cheaper.

CO's 767s are very new with personal video screens. US's 330 are even newer with AVOD (audio video on-demand).

Basically, all are decent choices.

I just purchased a ticket to Rome on Eurofly. Their website is www.euroflyusa.com They are currently having a promotional rate of $299 rt from JFK to FCO. They only fly out of Rome. I live on the MA/CT border and am more than willing to drive to JFK for that fare. It came to $368 with tax. That fare is no longer valid after May 13th, but they do fly in the summer.

Hi VU,

Neither airport is fun to fly in/out.

See www.seatguru.com for info on the equipment used by each airline and what to expect.

((I))

Alitalia is having a lot of financial problems and customer service problems. Check out this website
http://www.alitaliasucks.com

At the moment, ALITALIA seems pretty shaky, so I wouldn't book it. I think this may be why they're offering slightly lower airfares than the other carriers for the summer.

And for the sake of comparison, ALITALIA business class is not as good as CONTINENTAL or AIR FRANCE.

I just saw that another poster mentioned the 2 for 1 deal on Mastercard. I think these "deals" are a little misleading.

They're great if the workplace is paying for your spouse's business trip. Then you can accompany him/her on the same itinerary for a few hundred dollars in taxes.

But they're not so great otherwise. My experience has been that these fares almost involve at least one change of plane, and that the fares themselves are the same or more than what I can already find on most airlines.