rbnwdln

There are 5 of us going to Italy in June, into Venice and out of Rome. I have been watching fares for 3 or more months. This is the lowest I have found, on Swiss. It is down by $100 in the past week or so. My question is for all of you with crystal balls - do I pull the trigger or wait? For about 7 or 8 years we have been going to Italy and I have never paid more than about $900 (and watched the fare drop after I bought). But with the oil prices going up, I am wondering if I should just go with this fare. I have seen no summer fare sales yet and Aerlingus usually unveils theirs in March, so I am considering waiting for that. BUT since 5 people are expecting me to know the best thing to do here, I am getting nervous that prices will rise even further and we will be skunked. What would you do? (Just serious replies, please)
Thanks!!!!!

latedaytraveler

rb, I would take it - heard yesterday on the radio while driving that a fuel charge might be added to transatlantic flights of some $300 because of the chaos in Lybia and elswhere in the region. I was quoted a much highter figure a few months ago from Boston to Milan in June which I declined. Still not sure of my next destination. Good luck!

litefoot

These decisions are definitely difficult to make, I call it flight roulette. Did you try Aer Lingus? Their price was $863. What about alternative airports? Taking a flight out of NY? I saw Air Lingus out of JFK for $843, Jet Blue to JFK b/w $121-$189 (depending on time of flight). You can drive to JFK and pool the expenses, but frankly it comes out about the same w/gas and parking.

rbnwdln

If Aerlingus was $863 I would buy tickets in a minute. How did you find that price? We are tied into June 11 - 21 and the price is over 1K. We can fly out of JFK, but it is a hassle to save just a few dollars. Thanks for the advice. Any other ideas?

scotlib

Hi rbnwdln, as I type, JFK-VCE/FCO-JFK for your dates is $904. Boston was not an option with your airports. Good luck.

scotlib

I was searching at http://www.aerlingus.com, fyi

rbnwdln

Thank you for the information. I am afraid that the inconvenience of flying from JFK would negate the savings of aoubt $200 per person. We would need to stay the night at a hotel, so it becomes less appealing. Something to think about, though. Aerlingus does fly out of Boston but would require an overnight stay in Dublin, so that is also kind of a pain. Again, thanks!!

litefoot

What about flying Boston to Milan, take the train to Venice and back to Milan from Rome. The flight on Air Lingus was $974, the train travel on mini fare came to 90 euros (approx $123). Saves a little bit of money but takes more time into traveling by train. Unless you add Milan into your itinerary for a one night stay.

rbnwdln

litefoot - thank you for the suggestion. It would save probably $100 per person and it is not possible to add any time to our trip. We only have less than 3 days in Venice and Rome, so don't want to add the train to Milan to this. BUT thanks for all the good ideas!!! I really appreciate the creative minds of Fodor's!