michellef

Travel experts...what is the best airlines to fly to Sicily in the First Class cabin? And, how many miles will it take to book this first class seat?? I have 500,000 AMEX points that want to drop into whatever airline frequent flyer program necessary. ANY INFORMATION IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!

Kaneohe

What city will you be departing from? That will help narrow down what your airline choices are.

You may want to read through some of the trip reports found at the FlyerTalk web site:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports-177/

kybourbon

Transferring points to an airline doesn't guarantee a plane seat.

tuscanlifeedit

Ditto what kybourbon said. First class awards go very quickly; plan far in advance and be very flexible.

julia1

I would certainly look for flat-bed in First. I would also go for an airline which doesn't limit award availability. American offers flat-bed in First on their 777s. American also offers 'AAnytime' awards requiring double miles, approx 200,000-250,000 miles for flights US to Italy, with availability which doesn't depend on award seat quotas. Don't know if they fly into Sicily - you might have to connect in Rome to a partner airline and fly Business to Sicily.

niente

I don't know which airlines fly to Sicily, but I can tell you the best 1st-class transatlantic flight I ever took was on Air France. The worst was USAir.

bilboburgler

ditto on USair, it makes Airfrance look good

julia1

The new First on British Airways is very good. And, even better, you can use the Concorde Room at Heathrow, a good reason for a layover if there ever was one: individual cabanas with shower and WC, chaise, room service if you wish. Or have a meal in the table-service restaurant.

Gardyloo

A little nomenclature... first class is different from business class, and "true" international FC is only offered by a handful of airlines, and only to major European hubs, e.g. London, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich. To get to Sicily you'll have to change planes somewhere, and when you do you'll be "demoted" to business class, which for most European airlines is basically a coach cabin with a little more legroom, and usually the middle seat left empty.

US Airways doesn't offer first class to Europe, only business ("Envoy") class; ditto many other airlines including Alitalia, Iberia, SAS, Finnair, and others.

However, most major airlines have had to compete strenuously for business-class travelers, with the result being that business class starts to approach first class in terms of seat comfort, cabin amenities, etc. First class will get you (if offered) a wider seat, a bit more personal space, and generally much better food (caviar, good champagnes etc.) However the difference between a good international business class and first class is nowhere as big as the difference between coach and business class, not by a long shot.

flanneruk

"even better, you can use the Concorde Room at Heathrow, a good reason for a layover if there ever was one: "

There are no flights from Heathrow to Sicily (you'd need to change airports in London at your trouble and expense: a 5 hour, often stressful, pain which more than wipes out the pleasure of whatever brand of Champagne BA offers in First), and you'll almost certainly find there are no flights from the US to Sicily.

Also note that those airlines offering First on transatlantic flights from New York or LA often don't offer it from other US hubs. You might well find that going transatlantic in Business to Sicily gives you a wider choice of same-airport connection.s

zeppole

Alitalia's Magnifica business class is indistinguishable from first class.

http://www.alitalia.com/US_EN/your_t...c=editorial3-2

if you fly to Rome or Milan, there are frequent flights out of both airports to Palermo or Catania. You'll only have a very short layover and, while all the seats will be econony class, theflight to Sicily from the Italian mainland is very short.

Alitalia is often derided by people who don't know what they are talking about. The airline actually has a good record as compared to other carriers. I agree with reading Flyertalk for reviews of seat comfort.

For what it's worth, a friend of mine paid for a business class flight from the US to Italy on AirFrance with a layover in Paris CDG. His AirFrance flight from Paris to Italy was cancelled for lack of enough passengers. AirFrance told him he could wait for the next AirFrance flight -- the following day -- and perhaps that wouldn't be cancelled, or he they would put him on the next AirFrance flight to another Italian city and buy him a bus ticket to his true destination. He was able to recoup the money, but that's not the point of flying business class.

MaineGG

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe British Airways adds an unusually large amount of fees to their award tickets.

Gardyloo

Yes, BA levies big fuel surcharges - a transatlantic business/first class "award" will carry taxes and fees totaling several hundred dollars (or equivalent in other currencies.)

michellef

A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you! I truly appreciate all of the informative posts. We live in Dallas, so we will depart from DFW. Our trip isn't until March of 2013...I know airlines allow only a few reward seats, that's why I'm thinking waaaay ahead. I also realize that we will have to transfer somewhere in Europe for a flight to Palermo or Catania (our destination)and that flight (hopefully short) will not be first class. Interesting about BA charging the surcharges...had no idea. Thanks to all!