In researching airlines that don’t have really
long flights with lengthy stop overs - was wondering about United Airlines and dependability etc. Also, have been considering flying directly to Rome and taking a Vueling Hopper plane to Dubrovnik. Any thoughts? Thanking you in advance.
I flew United SFO to Munich last Sept. The airline was great. The screaming kids nearby, not so much..... I then took Air Dolomiti on.
From Dubrovnik I took Vueling Air to Rome (opposite of your plan) and had a good flight as well.
United was exceptionally helpful when a Lufthansa strike meant that I couldn't fly the original routing. They rerouted me and gave good customer service.
United is about as dependable as any airline in the world. I think they do a pretty good job at most things (despite the hate some folks heap on them). One-stop to Dubrovnik is about as good as it gets between the US west coast and Croatia.
Book a single ticket with United, on United metal all the way (or on United and one of their European partners).
If you make your one-stop in Newark, United flies from there nonstop to Dubrovnik. If you prefer a long nonstop from SFO to Europe (all other things being equal, I'd certainly pick that), then connect in one of United's partner hubs (most likely FRA) and continue on the short hop to DBV. Easy and stress free.
The only issue with combining the Rome direct and hop to DBV is that you’ll have to hang out in an airport several hours, as you’ll need ample time in between two separately booked flights.
I usually just pay more for a connecting flight, but I feel your pain having to fly from the west coast!
Recency bias here, but my last few experiences with United were some of my best among any airline. I had tickets cancelled because of the pandemic. Customer service kept extending the credit for like two years. When I was finally ready to use it, I could not get the website to accept it. I think it didn’t technically qualify for my destination, but customer service readily booked it over the phone. Good experience there. Also, get their app. It’s super, and notifies you if there’s documents needed (Covid stuff) and you can upload passport info etc. It made for some of the smoothest travel I’ve had. The flights themselves were on time with good amenities and friendly, helpful staff.
I was also pretty discouraged by the layovers that seem standard for this destination. I felt better spending more with these positive experiences in my pocket.
