Betsy

Thanks, WillTravel. I just reposted my message on Eurotrip. I had tagged on to someone else's question about fares in another thread. Newly posted as a separate topic. I noticed that Don has been answering questions today, so maybe he'll pick this one up. I'm "betsytoo" over there.

Traveling around April 26 and returning around May 14. Need to fly into/out of Rome.

Seamus

Feb 21 is Presidents Day in the US.

111op

Yes, Seamus, I know about the long weekend, which is why I'm thinking about traveling. But it seemed much easier for my previous long weekend trips. I'm still not sure why AA would show $1700 for the Friday departure/Monday return. Seems a bit excessive.

111op

Jocelyn, thanks for the tip on the flex option. I just tried it. Of course I can't travel on the dates suggested, but I see that fares as low as $200 to LHR are available -- just not the flights I want.

Still, an interesting feature.

mvor

111op, try BA, they're having a sale too.

newtraveller

Betsey, you should try hotwire!

111op

By the way I don't know if the travelocity prices include taxes. I was just experimenting with the feature.

mvor, BA wants over $700 on the Friday leg departure on their website. It's weird, as everything else near that date is cheaper. I think that there must be something going on that Friday -- I can see a premium for flying out on a Friday, but usually it's not this bad.

mvor

111op, I just saw that. It's also strange that there's only one flight on the 17th at the sale price; all of the others are $711. Very different from last year. Fortunately, for me, my dates are flexible. Good luck to you!

111op

Thanks. If the fares don't come down, I guess I'll just have to stay put. But have fun, mvor.

Betsy

Here's Don's reply: "If USAir stays, um, afloat, then expect an April/May sale in the $550+tax range from west coast USA to Rome. But keep watching--especially British Airways and run the fare aggregators 2-3x weekly: farebase, qixo, sidestep, mobissimo, etc. Might also see if Flyeurope.com have an offer. You can probably drop the big 3--Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity--as well as individual airline sites if you are using 2-3 of the aggregators. Bookingbuddy is another good one."

newtraveller, Hotwire has a possible maximum of an18 hour layover on a connection. To me, that's just too much risk for a flight from the West Coast to Europe, which is already long.

WillTravel

Betsy, if you are interested in Hotwire, you could look through all possible scheduled itineraries and see what the maximum layover is. I know that SAS and NWA/KTM do sometimes have itineraries on SEA routes that include an overnight layover in Copenhagen or Amsterdam, though, so I think your concern is reasonable.

You could also consider trying a price on Priceline combined with good travel insurance. Bargains are few when it comes to airfare, though. If I recall correctly, Priceline's layovers for European flights are limited to six hours.