Is it too risky to book multiple carriers through Expedia to Europe?
 

We are planning a trip to Italy from Aug 20 to Sept 1. Planning on Venice for 2 nights, Rome 4 nights, Positano 4 nights and last night in Naples for an anticipated early flight. No flights booked yet. At this point, it is about $1000 cheaper on Expedia from Philly to Paris to Venice (Delta, Air France) and returning from Naples via Milan, Paris to Philly (Alitalia, Air France). Each airline that we've checked individually has been astronomical, with USAir being the cheapest (but still $1000 more than Expedia) with a direct flight to Venice and only 1 stop in Rome on the way home. We love direct flights or minimal stops, but that's a big difference in cost. This is our first trip to Europe (not counting high school trip 10+ years ago where I didn't have to make any arrangements!!). We generally fly a few times a year, so we're not totally green. I'm mainly concerned about the flight from Philly to Paris and what happens if that's delayed? Also, will we have to claim our bags in Paris and re-check for the next leg of the trip? The time between flights on the way there is only about 90 minutes. Have never booked with multiple carriers and would appreciate some advice!! Peace of mind is a wonderful thing....however I'm just not sure it's worth 1000 bucks.

Air France, Alitalia, and Delta are SkyTeam Partner airlines. I suspect the flights you note will be codeshares and that you will be able to book these flights as one roundtrip booking. This is the key--booking these flights together at the same time. Then you are protected when a connection is missed in case of a delay.

I would contact Delta or Air France and talk to an actual human reservationist to ensure the ticket is booked properly. They should be able to book the entire set of flights. Also, you will have better recourse if something goes wrong if you book directly with the airlines. There may be a small fee to have a human handle the booking, but it will be worth it to get it done correctly.

A reservationist will also be able to advise you if the luggage can be checked through all the way, but since they are partner airlines, there may be a good possibility that your luggage can be checked through.

I have connected through Paris with only 55 minutes a few times.

If this is all on one ticket you are protected in case you miss a flight (but I don't think you have much of a chance of making a 90 minute connection at CDG). If this is separate tickets there is no way you should risk it - since if your first flight is late you will be a no show for the second, will have to buy another ticket at the going rate an will also have to buy a new return ticket (your return flight will be automatically cancelled when you don;t make the flight out of Paris)

Clarify with Expedia if this is issued as a single ticket. And have you looked at all the airlines into Venice and out of Naples for multi-destination tickets? This doesn;t sound like a flight that should be several thousand dollars. Another option is to consider flights out of EWR.

I just checked, and while Air France, Alitalia, and Delta are SkyTeam Partners, according to Delta's website they are NOT codeshare partners. I would still check with a reservation to see if there was a way for SkyTeam tickets to be linked. Otherwise you run the risk nytraveler mentioned.

What if you change the order to Positano-Rome-Venice? Then you could fly into Rome and go immediately to Positano, then do Rome, then Venice and fly home?

ellenem has a good point about talking to airlines , or you can try a travel agent.
I have seldom used agents, but on friend's suggestion , I called her agent and got a better price through him than what was offered online by the company.
Some agencies have a special relationship with a particular airline(s).

Thanks for the info and ideas! I should have clarified that the $1000 is the difference for our 2 tickets combined, not each. I did look into EWR and other NY area, a little more expensive. I will try to contact Air France directly. Looking at the "Sky Team" website, it appears that connecting in Paris between them might actually be fairly smooth...at least they say that's their goal!! If they can't be linked, then we'll probably go with USAir. Planning on keeping the order the same, as we would like to end with a little relaxation on the Amalfi Coast. I am not 100% sold on travel agents, which probably means I just haven't found the right one. Besides, planning vacations is one of my favorite pastimes:)

Call Expedia customer service, too, and talk to them about the 'what if's'. I haven't booked a multi-airline, multi-stop trip through Expedia, Orbitz, et. al. because I'm old school and we were trained early on not to do that because if something goes wrong the individual airlines wouldn't accommodate you because you weren't officially their problem. But that seems to have changed in the last few years and people have reported that Expedia will take care of you these days. Call and get some reassurance or at least some information to make your decision.

>>I'm old school and we were trained early on not to do that because if something goes wrong the individual airlines wouldn't accommodate you because you weren't officially their problem. But that seems to have changed in the last few years and people have reported that Expedia will take care of you these days.<<

And yet, I could swear I read here on Fodor's recently that people had more trouble with their flight cancellations/delays due to the volcano if they'd booked via Expedia, et al. rather than through the carrier(s) directly. I'm still going "old school" until I know for sure!

No way. DD just flew from Chicago to Athens by way of Montreal and Paris and when her flight was delayed out of Chicago and missed her overseas flight to Paris, Expedia told her she needed to buy another ticket on Olympic Airways out of Paris because her missed connection was basically 'too bad for you.' So she was forced to purchase another ticket, in fact her exact same flight, one day later than the original flight.

I don't think Olympic is part of any of the airline alliances.

sara - What price are you getting for the tickets? Try reversing your cities. Oddly enough, sometimes that's cheaper.

I book mostly on expedia and have for years and have done many multiple destinations and have been fine with them. However, I would not want to only have a 90 minute window to change planes in CDG or about anywhere else (except Singapore).

Last spring 2009, I went from L.A.-CDG-Venice, on Air France, but had more than 90 minutes to change planes. No problem. I booked straight through-no need to retrieve luggage and recheck it. In summer 2009, I booked L.A.-CDG-Copenhagen, on Air France, and had no problems at all, but again had more than 90 minutes. All was easily done on expedia. I've never had any expedia problems that I can think of.

As for Alitalia, I personally will not take them. Had too bad of an experience. I had a Delta/Ailitalia frequent flyer award ticket from L.A.-Milan-Accra(Ghana) and when I got to Milan I was told that the ticket/boarding pass that I was holding wasn't valid as the plane had left the day before and wouldn't be leaving again until the day after. I had reconfirmed several times and was issued the boarding passes in L.A., on my departure day, as it was showing that all was in order. Ailitalia, in Milan, was of no help at all and told me that I could sleep in the airport and try to fly out the next day. It was around 7AM when I arrived into Milan airport. As for Alitalia putting me up in a hotel for this mix up, I was told that it wasn't their responsibility.

Had it not been for Delta, at the Milan airport, and my absolute persistence to straighten it out, then I could have been stuck in Milan for a very long time, as the next day's Ailitalia flight had been sold out and oversold by so many seats that the Delta agent said I would have never gotten on that flight and that for Ailitalia to even suggest that I sleep in the airport and try to get on a flight the next day was just ridiculous.

The Delta agent spent well over an hour and a half trying to straighten it all out, and then booked me on a KLM flight, for the next day, to Amsterdam and then down to Accra (Ghana). She also sent a bus to pick me up and take me to a hotel where the tab was picked up for everything including the meals and a phone call to my hotel in Accra. The next morning she sent a private driver to pick me up and take me back to the airport to catch the KLM flight and even had me have the Delta agent call her at home where I spoke to her and was told that all was in order and that she wished me well. Now, that's my definition of service.

The Delta agent was quite ticked off with Ailitalia,too as when she tried calling them, the day before to straighten things out, they wouldn't even answer the phone. We could hear it ringing and could see them standing around talking. She was quite furious. A close friend's son also had problems with them just 6 months ago in both Florence and Rome. Happy Travels!

go Delta. I hope they have an award for customer service above and beyond the call of duty.

IMHO the problems mentioned above re-inforce the need for travel insurance - our annual policy for ourselves and our two adult children [when travelling with us] costs about £100. [europe only].

With Expedia - making changes to a ticket is a PITA. Usually you will have to change your entire plans and pay the difference in fee. I suggest looking on www.sidestep.com
You can put in your travel using multiple stops, and it will give you the best rate looking at all the airlines. It will then tell you which company to book through. I generally stay away from cheaptickets, expedia and others and would rather spend a few dollars more and book directly with 1 airline. You might also want to consider flying in and out of 1 airport, Venice or Rome. You can catch reasonable flights from Naples back to Venice or Rome to Venice (easy jet and others have flights under $50).

Buying directly from the airlines is preferred if price difference is not much because you only have one entity to deal with if something goes wrong. Same is true if it is codeshare airlines, where one airline will sell the ticket using both airlines' flights. Sometimes with a codeshare, one airline offers the same ticket at a lower price, so sometimes it pays to check both DL and AF for the same ticket.

I use Expedia and other travel agents when I want to book a multi-airline flight on one ticket. I often fly open jaw into one city and out of another, so all on one airline or codeshare may not work for me and one "roundtrip" ticket using multiple airlines may cost less than two separate one ways. I haven't had any more problems with multiple airline on single ticket booked this way than on single airline ticket booked this way.

I am hesitant to book separate tickets, even on the same airline, enroute or return. That's when you can really get stuck with no one wanting to help. I think that is what happened in the story above with Olympic Airways? That's my hesitation with using Easyjet or others Naples to Venice or Rome to connect for flight back to US unless you go back a day early. Then you have time to switch to train or bus if necessary to make your flight.

So I would have no qualms about the flights you list on that account. Personally, I don't care for Alitalia either and would consider taking train back to Rome if I could get a one-stop rather than two-stop flight back to the US.

P.S. you are getting responses on the identical post you put on the Air Travel board.

It would be best to deal directly with the airline. You can never depend upon arriving at your destination at the time given. One of our flights was delayed 3 hours in Halifax due to a death on the plane. Another flight was delayed 3 hours in Paris due to equipment replacement and we missed our connection in Heathrow. There are so many circumstances where your flight can be delayed. It is best to have your tickets through one airline who can be held accountable.