wanderer1

I am totally shocked at the airfare prices to Italy. One ticket is costing us almost as much as our entire week for an apartment in Positano!!

Anyway, I am still poking around, and if I go direct with the airlines, here are my choices BOS to NAP in May:

Alitalia - $1,119/pp
Delta - $1,279/pp
Lufthansa - $1,354/pp
United - #1,370/pp
Swiss Int'l - $1,370/pp

I have had bad luck the last couple times flying with Delta with cancelled/late flights.

Had OK luck with Alitalia last year flying to Rome.

Haven't flown either Swiss Int'l or Lufthansa and haven't flown United in a very long time. I hear Zurich is a great connecting airport, and given that plus a 10:45AM departure the day we return home vs 7am, I wonder if I should just bite the bullet and go Swiss Int'l. I DO worry about strikes with Alitalia.

I'm very tempted to do the Airfare.com ticket purchase, but am nervous about it - this from a person who bought a ticket to Japan through a consolidator - LONG story, eventually I got there, but had some hairaising moments! I'm not sure I want to put my DH who hates the flying part of travel worse than me through anymore than he has to!!

What are the chances with fuel prices they way they are that these fares will come down between now and May? Should I just book now?

I'm checking Kayak.com and all the sites you guys put me in touch with constantly, but I am really anxious about this whole thing.

I checked flying to Rome and taking the train, but there is no direct flight from BOS, only from NYC, and I really don't want to add one more complication with getting to NYC.

My husband swears he will never fly anywhere anymore that requires connections. It is a pain and adds more stress to the trip. Hopefully it will be worth it.

So, if it were you, which would you fly and why???

wanderer1

Oops, sorry. The Swiss Int'l flight is $1,420/pp, not $1,370.

LilRicky

I would suggest posting this on the "Airlines" forum, as many of the people who post there can be very helpful!

amyb

First, I read recently somewhere in the Boston press that Alitalia was adding a BOS-FCO daily departure, and I believe it's next spring. I'm not sure how you'd find out when that route starts though.

Did you look at Air France yet? That is usually how I get to Italy.

Except this time, I just (last week) flew Lufthansa from Boston to Rome and had a wonderful experience with the airline. I connected in Frankfurt in under an hour (including restroom stops and security/passport checks) and would gladly fly them again. I wasn't a fan of Frankfurt airport (a bit crowded, small seating areas near gate, hard to get water for flight).

I think though if I were you I might wait a bit longer to book. I saw a dip about 4 months before my November trip and I jumped on it. I think I booked my May 2006 Venice flight in January on a dip. I think you can get it below $1000 from Boston, personally. I'd wait a bit longer and watch it. Right now the "sales" all seem to be through March 31, so the next set of "sales" should be coming up by year-end is my guess (I'm waiting to book a flight for April...patiently!)

Dukey

Not sure why you are shocked but you might try going to www.itasoftware.com and using the "month-long" feature to look at airfares.

travelgourmet

"I read recently somewhere in the Boston press that Alitalia was adding a BOS-FCO daily departure, and I believe it's next spring."

This may be a replacement for the BOS-MXP flight, as Alitalia is cutting back at MXP and re-trenching at FCO. This far out, I would absolutely not book Alitalia. There is too much uncertainty.

A few other thoughts:

1) Take a look at the Delta flights. I would wager they are either on Air France or Alitalia, via codeshare. If Air France, great. If Alitalia, then obviously I wouldn't do it.

2) Zurich is a great airport. And Swiss is nice enough. Probably more comfortable than Alitalia.

3) $1200 seems high. I wouldn't book at this point. I would be shocked if the price doesn't improve sometime between now and then. Worst case, I would think you could book at $1200 in March, so I don't see much downside in wating.

4) Have you considered breaking this down? Fly BOS to Paris, Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt, etc, and then buy an onward ticket. I wouldn't do it to save $25, but if it saved you several hundred, then...

5) You mention that your husband won't connect. Then how, exactly, do you plan to get to NAP? You can't fly there from BOS nonstop. You will have to connect, and I would rather connect at Heathrow than try to fly to Milan or Rome and connect to a train. Particularly Milan, which is over an hour outside the city.

mike_b12

I would pick as long as the prices are close an international airline. At least they will feed you for free and you can have free drinks for your long trip.

Weadles

I think Alitalia and Delta are the worst of the bunch. Out of Boston, that might even be the same flight, since they used to be a codeshare.

If you can stand spending a little more, I'd go with Swiss. I've connected through Zurich a few times, and it is one of the most hassle-free airports I've flown through in Europe.

Unlike some of the other posters, I think airfares may NOT come down. Just read at least a few articles on how fuel prices are going way up, and airlines may increase their prices dramatically soons- if the market will bear it.

Good luck, and make sure that you check, if you haven't already, places like Farecompare.com to get an idea of what the going rate is at the moment.

Weadles

Just wanted to add that I would avoid Heathrow at all costs. It is an absolute nightmare to connect through these days.

Also- have you checked prices out of NYC? I wonder if they're a little less expensive.

Good luck!

gard

Hi

I was pretty impressed with Lufthansa when I used them from Bangkok to Frankfurt in September. To my surprise they had pretty good service but the downside is lack of personal entertaintment (at least on the flight I was on) and lack of legroom.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

travelgourmet

" I would pick as long as the prices are close an international airline. At least they will feed you for free and you can have free drinks for your long trip."

I think this is a little simplistic. Yes, there has been some degradation from the US airlines, but there is more to this than meets the eye. For instance:

1) Northwest still serves free booze on their transatlantic flights. And their Airbus 330s are probably the best coach experience you will have crossing the pond. Delta gives you wine or beer with your meal, as well as ice cream.

2) If you care about frequent flyer miles, then some of the European airlines can be stingy, like BA or SAS's 25% accrual policy. Lufthansa has plenty 50% fares as well, along with Swiss.

3) Alitalia's food is not that good, and their reputation for service is not the best. Free booze doesn't do much good if the FA's are nowhere to be found.

For my money, I would try to find a way to fly Northwest from Boston, connecting in Amsterdam to KLM. You get the best transatlantic experience, coupled with a great airport for connecting. KLM is pretty bad within Europe, but none of the others are much better.

travelgourmet

"Just wanted to add that I would avoid Heathrow at all costs. It is an absolute nightmare to connect through these days."

I don't think Heathrow is that bad if you don't have to switch terminals. By May, flying BA should mean that you will fly through Terminal 5, so no terminal changes and (hopefully) a decent experience.

And even Heathrow beats a stateside connection where, on the return, you will have to collect your bags, clear customs, and re-check. This means that anything less than a 3-hour connection time is risky. Even at Heathrow, I have never had a connection take more than 1 hour.

mike_b12

travelgourmet,
I was referring to my own expierences going from Lax to Europe on American Airlines.

wanderer1

Thanks all. I think we are leaning toward Lufthansa or Swiss, even with the higher prices given that alot of people seem to think their connections go pretty smooth at Munich and Zurich.

Both flights I looked at have 2 hr/10 min connection times. Is that enough?

We've flown Air France many times, and want to avoid at all costs. We really dislike that airport, which having to get on buses to change terminals - a mess.

We did look at Northwest/KLM, but connection in Amsterdam, then Milan, then to Naples, just adds one more leg to the trip.

It isn't that my DH won't connect, he just dislikes it, and every time we fly vows not to go anywhere we can't fly direct! Of course he's kidding (I think)...

I looked into flying out of NYC. Again, just adds another leg to the trip. Only direct flight is to Rome, where we would have to train. Rather just fly out of Boston.

Yes, it appears the Delta and Alitalia flights are the exact same. With the Italian strikes, who knows with Alitalia.

The United flight has a 7 hour layover, so I think we will scratch that.

I'm "shocked" I guess because we haven't been to Europe since last Oct and our flight to Rome was @ $580/pp. Didn't know flights had gone up so much...

Thanks for your help everyone. Our main goal is to keep this as hassle free as we can. If that means paying a little more, so be it. In the grand scheme of things, $200/pp more is not such a big deal.

We will wait to book though, given the chance fares may come down. I'll just keep a close eye on them..

travelgourmet

mike_b12: No problem. Just offering some additional data for the OP. From what I have read, it does seem like AA has gone downhill. But, I think a lot of folks who live in the US don't see just how bad many of the EU carriers can be (KLM, Alitalia, and Iberia, especially have extremely poor reputations), and I just think the US vs European carrier advice needs to be heavily caveated.

dickensdad

It might be too early to search for May flights - perhaps you should wait until January.

Airlines vary in quality, but it is also important to consider the transfer airport on a trip to Italy. Amsterdam, Zurich, and Munich have average transfer times under 1 hour, compared to over 2 hours for London Heathrow or Paris CDG.

I prefer flying out of Rome on the return trip, because there are many more flights that leave at a reasonable hour (e.g. 9:30-10:30 AM). You can get a flight to Rome from Boston for around $1,000.

My favorite airline/itinerary from Boston to Italy is Northwest (leaving Boston in the early evening, 2 hour layover in Amsterdam, and arriving in Rome at 12:30 PM. Return flight leaves Rome at 10:20 AM, stops in AMS for 2 hours, and arrives in Boston at around 6 PM local time).

I also prefer to buy tickets directly from the airline, given all the potential problems with intermediaries.

mike_b12

travelgourmet,
No worries at all. I am surprised to hear that. The few times I flew on AA airlines and had a connection from London to Amsterdam for the short flight, there was a nice meal and beer or wine. Also on Austrian Air from Brussels to Vienna it was the same. This recent trip I was lucky enough even with using miles to use Air Tahiti Nui a partner of AA from Lax to Paris.

wanderer1

What are the problems with the intermediaries?

I thought once your ticket was issued, it was as if the airline itself had issued it?

travelgourmet

mike_b12: I'm assuming the London-Amsterdam flight was BA, in which case BA is a pretty good carrier (particularly for elites). KLM isn't awful, but just nothing special - and they are going downhill. Alitalia can be downright dysfunctional. Iberia is no great shakes, though my experience has been limited. SAS is efficient, but the nickel-and-diming is out of hand. Etc.

travelgourmet

"We did look at Northwest/KLM, but connection in Amsterdam, then Milan, then to Naples, just adds one more leg to the trip."

Agreed. I really like NW, but I wouldn't connect twice just to fly them.

Given everything you have said, I feel that Swiss is your best bet.