why is it SOOO expensive....
 

To fly direct from New York to Rome, then at the end of the trip to fly direct out of Venice?!? It doubles the price!!! I really don't want to do 5 hour layovers on my honeymoon. Any ideas?

Hi,

When do you plan to fly? It's early yet for discounts in the Summer.

Hi Ira, This is for September 2004. Thanks!

I don't see why it would automatically double the price, not on every airline certainly.
I've done it in late September myself, on Delta, (from and to JFK) and the total fare wasn't any different than round trip to one city or the other.

Maybe you are trying to plan budgets, but another way might work better. It's too early to even try to get reliable pricing for next September. Count on spending about what it would cost you RT to the more expensive of those two cities. Venice might be more because it's not as big an airport, right?

It's too soon to start looking for bargain prices in September. We're going in July and I'm just starting to shop around. You might consider registering for fare watchers at some travel sites. They will automatically contact you if the prices dip below a price you specify. Try Travelocity.com among others.

Hi, I had the same problem when booking fares for this past October (Newark - Rome - Venice - Newark). Is the 5 hour layover in Amsterdam? I refused to do that. Keep checking. The night we decided to bite the bullet and book, the fare magically came down $170 round trip. Don't ask me why...I had been looking at airfaresfor weeks.

Persevere - you'll find a cheaper flight. If not - take the train back to Rome. At least you'll be looking at scenery and not an airport lounge.

Way to ealy to look for Sep.2004 fares.

Relax, when you see sales ads in newspapers, tv, hear anything on the radio, check it out. BA is famous for starting a fare war every couple of months. The sale fares don't last long, so each time you have to decide if it's the right fare or should you wait for the next sale.
My philosophy has always been that once I see the fare I'm comfortable with, I get the ticket. I try not to get greedy, because I've seen many loose that war :-)

I am flying into Florence tomorrow and out of Venice next week. It did not cost anymore than flying in and out of Florence. It is way to early to find a great deal and trust me even when you think you can't wait any longer and the deal looks good it will drop even lower a week after you purchase your ticket. You just grab a fare that seems to fit your budget when you see it. I only have a 1 hour layover in Munich both ways out of Dulles. Good luck and be patient.

I think one of the key issues may be to choose an airline like Alitalia or Delta, among others, that flies to both airports without relying on partners.

If you're not leaving from a home airport that's considered a hub, that may be another factor as well.
If that's the case, a layover may be the compromise for a lower fare.

Were you using Travelocity? For some reason, they tend to hit multiple cities hard. Go to the individual airlines' sites.

I just tried American Airlines site with September dates. The were offering seats on other airlines, but the prices were almost identical $850 mulitcity, $830 ro Rome.

Keith

Hi thon,

As noted, it is too early for September. We booked in late Feb for Sept, 2003 and found that we could have waited until late March.

Like the others stated, it's probably just too early.

How are you getting your fare quotes? In my recent search for travel to Italy (from the west coast to Venice and out of Florence back to the west coast) I did much better by actually calling the airline.

First I tried all the internet airfare sites and they were very expensive (about $1200 per person), then I tried the airline website which was better (about $600 per person), and then I hit gold when I called the airline (got round trip, open jaw tickets for 2 for $750!!!).

Granted, that does include a long layover, but for me it's worth it for the amount of money I am saving - gives me more money to actually spend during my vacation.

Look and listen closely for air sales. You'll probably be able to get a good deal 4-6 months in advance of the trip you are trying to plan.

thanks everyone... i definitely know it is early to check flights for reliable prices, but i do think it helps to check every few weeks just to see how the price fluctuates so i know when the *good* prices come about! I had been using Orbitz as my main search engine, and affordable prices certainly showed up, but none of them were direct flights. I'll keep on it, thanks again...

One of the "problems" with this itinerary MAY be your desire to fly DIRECT from venice back to New York..there is a lot less competition on that route than there is on the Milan-New York route and it is the amount of route competition and not the distance which drives the fares. But even with that it seems unusual for an open jaws to be double...I doubt somehow you'll have to put up with any of the dreaded five-hour layovers but how much money is it worth to you to avoid that if it becomes inevitable?

I just book a Delta flight, from Los Angeles to Rome, and from Venice back to Los Angles with changes at JFK. The round trip tickets are $620/per. From JFK to Rome (Delta 7611)and from Venice to JFK (Delta 155) are non-stops and should be cheaper than from LA. I am travelling late March for two weeks.