In regards to flying to Italy, which airline is better? Air France? Atalia? Lufthansa?

I'm trying to book my tickets and I"m just wondering if its worth the extra $200 to fly Lufthansa?

Hi Jenny, if you mean the Italian airlines Alitalia I would stay away from them. That once wonderful airline is NOT in this day and age. Even my friends in Italy avoid Alitalia if at all possible. They tend to us Air France although they aren't thrilled with them. I have a cousin who travels to Germany a lot and she loves Lufthansa (and she is hard to please) for what it is worth.

Outside of going on strike over Greenland and then losing our luggage, we have had good luck with Lufthansa.

My motto is, "If we land safely, then it's a good flight!"

I traveled with a group to Italy this spring. We took various airlines and met in Rome. I was on a Lufthansa flight from SFO through Munich to Florence. It was an OK flight, but not worth $200 more than any other airline, IMHO. Another member of the group traveled through Paris to Rome on Air France, and her flight was fine too. Of the three that you named, I'd opt for Air France and use the saved $$$ on the ground in Italy.

If you are flying coach then probably one airline is much like another. I have had good and bad experiences with a number of airlines and the quality of experience normally has nothing to do with price paid.

Is your Alitalia flight direct? Once I've found flights in my expected price range, things like non-stop flights and good flight times are generally what determine which flights I'll take.

I suppose my answer is therefore that one airline in economy would not be worth $200 more than any other. To me one plane journey is much the same as another but this is not the case for a lot of people.

LoveItaly is right. Alitalia used to be fantastic. We flew over on Alitalia last year and back on Delta, and as miserable an airline as Delta has become, it was much better by far than Alitalia. On Alitalia the plane was way overdue for rehab, seats reminded me of sleazy movie theaters. Food, which one might think would be good was not. Service also left much to be desired. One good thing, they help passengers cram their overstuffed bags into overhead bins so you can take off on time instead of standing around like FAs of american planes.

Maitai Tom,
A GREAT landing is when you can use the plane again.

I hate to sound like I am a complainer, but in regular tourist class, I hate all of them. British Airways has (or had) a super tourist class that might be a little more tolerable.

I would agree with bob_brown about British Airways. They HAD a tolerable and super sardine class--in 1991 when I first flew with them. Since 2000 the quality seems to have gone downhill. Seats have become narrower, cushions thin, and the FA's not as thoughtful.

I prefer Lufthansa over the three choices you name; they seem to be the complete opposite of BA. But I wouldn't pay $200 extra to fly them. I would settle for Air France in the end as I have flown with them too. Seats, food, and FA's are not the greatest, just ok but good enough. I would choose AF over BA. I haven't flown Alitalia as I've read too many bad comments about them.

As I sit here after having a flight on Continental cancelled last night due to weather (which some of you could probably blame on God..I'm certainly not blaming the airline) and, as a result, missing a connection out of Newark to Paris..hopefully we'll get over there by tomorrow morning..I'm convinced, more than ever, that connection times should be a deciding factor as well as length of flight...and we are flying First Class this trip.

I think coach class has "risen" to the level of ground transportation BUS service and when we do take it, and we often do, we use the most convenient one available and go without ANY expectations other than, hopefully, arriving alive. Anything else received is now viewed as a happy cirumstance.

I'm with Intrepid and others who say all coach is equally bus-like. I would first opt for a non-stop flight and if not possible look for best times/connections. One observation I have on connections---the better they are for you (less waiting time) the more likely you won't have luggage for a while

Intrepid, hope you get to Paris quickly!

Jenny - thanks for starting this thread. I learned a lot considering I only fly AA. But since AA has "partner" airlines I realize I have to take them into consideration too.

Intrepid1 - So sorry you are grounded - hope it doesn't last too long. But I appreciate your insight about connections. I always try to cut it as close as possible but your point is so valid. DH and I are trying to decide where to go in October and now I'm definitely leaning towards the nonstop cities, especially since we only have 8 or 9 days. Good luck to you!