What is a better airport to fly thru from Seattle to Rome?

Beckie,
My daughter and I flew from SEA to SFO. From there it was a direct flight to Rome. This was in 2017, so maybe the flights have changed, but I felt better about a connecting flight here in the US rather than one in a foreign country.

This is a question like "when's the best time to buy my ticket?"

There's no single, simple answer. A lot depends on "luck" (or what is essentially luck, insofar as we can predict it).

Like trying to predict airline ticket prices in advance, you can make some basic predictions about the quality of airport transit experiences, which will (may?) often turn out as predicted....but a lot of it is still down to luck.

All that said, here are the priorities I would consider:

• Of course, you need to get from Point A to Point B (in this case, Seattle and Rome).
• Choose a routing that has the fewest number of connections (fewer potential failure/pain points)
• Choose a routing that maximizes your transatlantic leg - personally, I'd much rather hop down to SFO and get a long nonstop all the way to my European destination (or close to it), than connect someplace in eastern North America.
• Allow LOTS of time to connect. My definition of how much time is needed has more than doubled (and I'm still staying home this summer!).
• Keep in mind that whatever wise plan you have now may (probably will) morph into something different as flights are cancelled or rescheduled. Expect this to happen more than once.
• To the extent that you can (without violating one of the above guidelines), choose a smaller airport to connect through: Munich rather than Frankfurt, Keflavik rather than Heathrow, etc. Smaller airports tend to be more manageable, but there is a potential risk: if your flight is cancelled, there are fewer alternative options to re-accommodate you.

All other things being equal, I generally try to stay away from the biggest European hubs: London, Paris, Frankfurt. Adding Amsterdam and maybe Dublin to my list. Problem is, as that list grows, the list of preferred options that look better shrinks.

is Rome the only place you're visiting? Just know if you are going to other places, it's best to book MULTI CITY tickets. We almost always fly into Venice and out of Rome when we go to Italy. You should be able to get a direct flight from the USA to Rome - even if it's from another US city on the east coast from Seattle. These days, I'd look at layover times more than the actual airport. There are some airports we try to avoid, but timing is really everything at this point. I'd look for a flight straight to Rome if that's your only city.

We are using Rome as our entry and exit as we will be traveling strictly in Italy.

It is very hard to know what the situation will be like when you travel. (When are you traveling?)

If I were looking at this in "normal" times, I would base my decision entirely on the transit time, class of service available for price, and convenience. Now, there seems to be the issue with how is the transit airport functioning.

I have transferred at all these airports in the past. If you are looking for the easiest in terms of short turn around, less walking between gates, and currently no major luggage issues- then Iceland Air through KEF would be a good choice. What class of service you want matters here. Their Saga Class is the equivalent to a domestic first class. You do have nice seats and are fed good meals. Coach class is very basic and the food....well, can't say much positive about the food in coach.

Beckie, is the related question, “Which is better, flying Icelandair or Lufthansa?” Airport facilities aside, which offers the right timetable for you, at the right price? And what’s the layover time in each airport - how long are you there, waiting for your flight onward to Rome?

I’ve connected thru Keflavik in Iceland several times, and it worked, although certainly wasn’t the highlight of any trip. I’ve also connected through Frankfurt, too, although not in many, many years, and it was maybe a tinge nicer than the Iceland experience, but again, that was years ago.

I pick my flight, and accept the airports that come with it.

Do you have to fly out of Seattle? I found that flying out of Vancouver, Canada was much cheaper. Be sure and check if it would be cheaper for you. I did fly to Iceland and then on to London.

I'm flying home from Rome this fall and opted to take a direct flight from Rome to Atlanta on Delta with forward travel on from there. My endpoint is Spokane and had set it up to do the direct Atlanta to Spokane flight but that's already been change to a routing thru Minneapolis. While I normally would do a transit thru a European hub, this year I've opted to transit thru US hubs. There are a number of Seattle<->Atlanta flights.

hey hey beckie
at this point in time, can't say which is better with so many changes happening everyday. i would look for a direct/nonstop from seattle/closer airport or seattle/US airport/italy.
where in italy are you going and when? who are we as how many people? doing a multi-city (not 2 one ways) is better than back tracking (into venice, florence, milan out of rome). spend the night before in airport flying from, cost of trains, hotel, stress will make this trip better.
look at arrival times into italy, checkin times are usually 2-3pm, early flight will have you lugging luggage around (could be hours) or ask if hotel has luggage storage until checkin.
i've had layover in frankfurt, dublin and paris, hated them and amsterdam was okay, not like now days.
so many people are traveling now, i call it "revenge travel", tired of being locked up in their cocoons and want out. to me there is not a "shoulder" season anymore.
research airlines and flights and what best suits your style, give yourself enough time between flights. i've seen the ugly of people missing flights because of time and rushing, problems along the way, train strikes, cancelling flights. have patience and hoping you find what are satisfied with. good luck
aloha

I dont know when you are going, but look and read about all of the issues at the airports in Europe. FIRST, I would make a transfer in the US if I could get a direct flight to Rome. Second, I would pay the few hundred extra to fly Turkish Air through Istanbul and not have to worry about airport conditions and canceled flights due to airport conditions. Sure, its a longer distance, but it wont take any more time because you can still do 1 and 2 hour layovers in IST, where right now I wouldn't do less than 3 or 4 in the rest of Europe.

I've given some thought on where I would change planes (in the US or Europe) if I had to make one connection. I think it is 6 of one, a half dozen of the other.

On the one hand, changing in the US, before the trans-Atlantic flight means you change in the beginning of the trip, while you are still fresh and alert, not after a long night's flight, and you change at an airport in this country, with more signage in English, and everyone speak English. Compare that to trying to change planes in some unfamiliar airport, in another language, in a jetlagged fog.

On the other hand, if your first flight is delayed, and you miss you connection to the trans-Atlantic flight, there might not be another flight to Europe, or you desired destination, that day. Once you get to Europe, even if your flight is late, there are probably more options available to get to your ultimate destination.

Fortunately I haven't had to make that decision. Frankfurt and Munich, my two favorite destinations in Europe are served non-stop by Lufthansa. And, they are both popular destinations, so there are a great many flights from US cities N/S to those destinations. There are not many connections between Denver and Frankfurt that connect in Europe.

Years ago, the first non-stop flight from Denver to Europe was a British Air flight to London. However, the flight landed in London too late for the morning "wave" of flights to the continent, so I would have had to wait around, jetlagged in, at the time Gatwick, until the afternoon flights. At that time, it was faster to change in this country.

Two airports that I try to avoid are JFK-NYC and O'Hare/Chicago. I have had bad experiences at both.

Atlanta has always been no problem going through.

I have flown the route Frankfurt to Seattle a number of times, switching flights in Iceland with Iceland Air. I prefer this over a direct flight because I just don't like sitting in a plane for 11 hours. The transit through Iceland is quick and easy and the time for the flight to and from Seattle is usually just 7 hours. If the sky is clear, it is amazing flying over Greenland and the icy areas in northern Canada.

I haven't changed planes in Iceland and haven't been to Frankfurt in decades but I do consider where I will change planes because I've been chosen "randomly" for extra security checks the last 3 times I've been to London (LHR) and the last time I almost didn't make my plane (Security doesn't seem to care if you miss it). I now avoid changing in LHR and CDG because it seemed like there were a lot of strikes at CDG (pre-Covid) based on research I did before my trips (I have no proof, just my memory of what I read). History is no predictor of what will happen in these challenging times but here's what makes sense to me: Since non-stops from SEA are limited I prefer to change in the US and only deal with immigration once I'm at my final destination. In September I flew Seattle-Chicago-Athens and even though we only had 50 minutes to connect, the gates at ORD were very close to each other so it was no problem.
I see we live on the same tiny island, maybe we could compare notes. Good luck with your planning!

Lisa, once you enter the EU or Schengen at your first stop here, that is the only immigration check you will have. You won't get another one. On your 2nd flight, all you do is get off of your plane and walk out of the airport.

What David said!!!! with the addition of considering VYR ( Vancouver) It is our airport of choice when we can.