cap

Glad to read that the city has definitely risen to the occasion. Human spirit...<BR><BR>I've been researching fares through the sites, i.e. expedia, orbitz, etc. and can certainly see how one flies to Prague. Trouble is, I'm not familiar with the European carriers, Lufthansa, etc. that I have to connect with to get into Prague proper. I'm hoping to go around November 22 for about 7 or 8 days, but I'm flexible.<BR><BR>I guess in retrospect, all of my trips to Europe have been on American carriers I'm familiar with to cities I know well. Time to branch out!<BR><BR>Are some considered off-price or economy? Are some of the connection cities particularly difficult? I'm not looking for reputation bashing, just some practical experience that could help this old man enjoy a hassle-free, convenient trip over.<BR><BR>Many thanks in advance.

Betty

Lufthansa has a very good reputation cap, so does swiss air, British Airways, KLM (but not on Northwest) and the major carriers you know. I would pick the carrier with the least connections or where I needed my FF miles. In the past I preferred foreign carriers over American carriers but they seem to be blending together for me with the exception of British Airways.<BR><BR>Have not been to Prague when do you want to go.

Betty

just saw your dates what is the weather doing in Prague that time of year?

cap

WEll, it's supposed to be cold. About 10 degrees, I read. I can take it and am not dissuaded.<BR><BR>Anyone else have thoughts to share?<BR>

Leslie

I was in Prague last year from November 14-24 and it was in the 40s most days, and some days in the high 30s. The day I left Prague it began to snow, and it just added to the beauty of the city.<BR><BR>I flew out of Boston on Swiss Air (now known as Swiss), and had wonderful service, but you might also consider flying on Czech Air if you want to connect through Newark or JFK (leaves from each airport on different days). I haven't checked Czech Air's website, so I don't know if you can get a direct flight from DC.<BR><BR>Sometimes British Airways offers a free stop over in London if you fly on BA, as all flights from the US must connect through London. That might be a possibility to look into.

cap

Thank you, Leslie. That's very helpful!

Christina

I've gone twice from DC and both times took Air France. They usually have the best prices from DC and schedules for me--also I am in their FF program. There isn't any airline that flies nonstop from DC to Prague that I know of, and I prefer going nonstop all the way to Europe and then transferring only once in the morning for another short flight. I think British Airways might also be an option, going through London, but I prefer Air France and Paris myself. <BR><BR>I don't think there's a big difference in most of these major European carriers myself, so I'd just decide on price and schedule. As far as I know, most of the European carriers require you to go to their hub (Paris, London, Zurich, whatever) and then you will probably be on Czech Air from there to Prague on any of them, they seem to all codeshare with Czech Air. But those websites can tell you that. <BR><BR>Some folks don't like Air France or the Paris hub, so my preference is not universal--however, I haven't flown another way to compare.

Art

I flew KLM and changed in Amsterdam, which is a very easy airport to find your way around in. Had very nice flights both ways.<BR>

FanofLeslie

Listen to Leslie she is an expert on Prague. She has excellent advise.

Leslie

Fan, thanks for the vote of confidence, but I was only expressing my opinion. Christina and everyone else has provided good advice to cap. <BR><BR>Czech Air is the only airline that flies non-stop to Prague. I know that JFK and Newark have direct flights on different days. One glitch is that you might fly out of JFK but return to Newark, or vice versa, depending on your dates, so you need to pay attention to the Czech Air's website.<BR><BR>In all honestly, fly the airline that has the best pricing, or the best connections, or the one that you have frequent flyer points with.<BR><BR>Last August, I bought my roundtrip ticket to Prague on Orbitz -- it was $400 including tax but was on Sabena. Swiss Air filed bankruptcy, and then Sabena filed bankruptcy. Sabena never took off, but I was able to buy a new ticket on Swiss Air 10 days before departure for $400 through Orbitz. I was one of the lucky ones, I received a full refund on the Sabena ticket through Orbitz. My moments of terror should not impact your decision if you decide to fly Swiss, as its a new airline that emerged from the bankruptcy. I've flown Swiss since the bankruptcy when I went to Budapest in March, landed in Zurich and then switched to Malev (the Hungarian airline) for the remainder of the flight. Transferring was seamless. Zurich is actually an easy airport to get around, should that weigh into your decision.<BR><BR>I believe that Swiss flies out of DC to Zurich, so that might be a good option for you. And, I just received an email from Swiss with sale fares, although I haven't looked at it closely.<BR><BR>I've also flown in and out of Amsterdam, and that is another user-friendly airport. Flying into Heathrow isn't that bad, but you will need to switch terminals, but all you need to do is take one of the shuttle buses -- it only takes a few minutes.<BR><BR>As long as your luggage is ticketed all the way through to Prague (it should happen automatically), all you will need is 90 minutes between flights. I've switched in Zurich in 45 minutes and not had any problems.

Robdaddy

You might also want to consider Austrian Airlines. They fly from IAD to Prague with a stop in Vienna, and their website is showi9ng some really good e-saver fares for Nov., when you plan to travel. I have no personal experience with them, but they are the national carrier for whatever that's worth and fly the Airbus 300 series from Washington to Vienna.<BR><BR>Whatever you choose to do, enjoy your trip...wish I could go, too.