My wife and I are in the preliminary stages of planning a 12 day trip to Italy for the end of next April/early May--likely doing the Rome, Florence, Tuscany swing--and are looking at flights. We're out of DC, and I assumed JFK in NYC would be the best bet, but found the best rates flying US Air out of Philadelphia--$600 roundtrip, no layover. Price increased by $200 or so apiece if we went several weeks later.

My question is: is such a price going to stick around, or do I need to book it now?

Well Maine? My husband and I decided to go to Rome last spring. We are going from Nov. 16th to the 24th. (Thanksgiving week). I found USAir offered us about $500 each nonstop and hesitated thinking they'd come down for the winter. Oh well...I learned.
I booked the $612 each plus about $155 in taxes and surcharges. So? I'd book it.

I can't being to forecast how airline fares will change by the middle of next year, but I can tell you that $600 round-trip from the US to Rome is an excellent fare, especially for a nonstop flight. The downside is that you have to fly on USAirways, a wretched airline for international service.

thanks for your feedback. I did think it was a great flight, especially considering other direct flights out of NYC several weeks later were several hundred dollars more.

Guess we'll just have to grin and bear the fact that it's on US Air.

I flew USAir from Philadelphia end of April, 2014, to Venice and returned from Rome to PHL in mid-May. It was twice that fare so I would snap it up. I found USAir outbound flight to be less than filled so I had a two seat row to myself. The flight back from Rome was full but I was on the aisle and tired from my trip so I slept on the long flight back.