I have heard it could be less expensive to fly from the States to England and then catch a European flight into Italy rather than direct into Italy. Has anyone done this and what European airlines would you recommend?

Jacqueline,<BR><BR>I've done this several times. We've flown both British Airways and Alitalia out of Heathrow and Gatwick. You might want to check some of the discount airlines like Easy Jet or Ryanair to find out what Italian cities they service. I will warn you that sometimes air traffic can delay your ongoing flight for several hours out of either airport in London. This has happened to us a few times, most recently from Gatwick to Venice last July. Good luck in your planning!

It's an excellent strategy, especially to Italy, Spain or Germany - - but more and more other destinations applicable as well.<BR><BR>BMI, Buzz and Go are also part of such a strategy. Other new ones all the time.<BR><BR>When you are ready to buy, you might also check into advice from the cheap flights forum of www.eurotrip.com<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

See also http://www.volare-airlines.com/home/index.asp<BR>

Jacqueline-I recently did this on British Air. Their website is excellent for getting best BA prices because you can put in dates &amp; then choose + or - up to, I think, 7 days (if your dates are flexible) &amp; see if leaving a few days later or earlier saves $. I could have saved a bit by flying Volare from London to Italy but the flight times didn't coincide as well with the BA flights. One word of caution- try to arrive &amp; depart from the same airport. We had to transfer from Heathrow to Gatwick &amp; vice versa/ It's certainly doable but a hassle retrieving &amp; carting luggage &amp; you have to pay your own transport between airports, about $22/person.

Try -http://www.aerfares.net/index.shtml<BR>for discount flights our of London. Biggest drawback are most of the discount Airlines use different airports Than Heathrow or Gatwick.