Hello all, thank you so much for your thoughts on my previous post. Based on what you are saying, our reading & the fact we are visiting in late March/early April & want to maximize our time without driving: 3/16-3/23 in Palermo w/family. Then 3/23-3/27 Nafplio by bus or private car, then return to Athens & fly to Crete 3/27-4/1. Then fly back to Athens 4/1 & fly back to Boston 4/4. Given our recent disaster getting from Aberdeen to Paris - we ended up hopping the Eurostar when EasyJet took off out of Luton without us - we are leery of a trip from Palermo through Rome & Athens to Crete in one day. There is more transportation flexibility going to Nafplio from Athens. We hope to make reservations today. ITA has by far the best fares, but I see mixed reviews. Delta is about $600-$800 more at this point, which we can afford. When do you think of this itinerary? Which airline? Other itinerary & airline suggestions welcome. Thank you again.
Posted by
NH (USA)
1222 posts
I can't help with the itinerary.
I do know making reservation close to or even the next day for flights can be very high.
ITA use to be call Alitalia.
We flew with them to Italy and Athens way back when and were not happy with service: long delays, aircraft malfunction before take off, waited 3 1/2 hours in plane on taxi waiting for repairs, etc.
Not sure what the "new" airline is all about or it's performance.
However, from reviews online it's not good!
I do know all airline costs have gone through the roof.
I normally fly with Delta (very good airlines) from Boston to Athens and they were $300-$400 more than last year and as of today the increase has jumped $600 more than last year!
Won't book anything till costs come down, if they even will, very disappointing!
Posted by
OP
20 posts
Hi, Thanks for the response. You are almost a neighbor! We are outside of Portland Maine. I'd prefer to fly Delta, but they have codeshare with ITA, and it appears any flight we buy will on ITA, so I'm not sure of the difference. I do know it's easier to figure out the advantages/disadvantages of each flight class using Delta's site as opposed to Kayak.
Posted by
NH (USA)
1222 posts
Most experienced travelers recommend booking through the airline's website rather than a third party.
You'll more than likely get direct customer service and more info when you book directly.
I sometimes use a third party like Kayak or Google for a quick check to see what's available and if I find something I'll go to the airline's website.
Delta's website is very informative and they have filters to find the kind of flight and tickets so you'll know exactly what you are getting.
I always opt for Main Cabin since you'll get seat selection and checked luggage.
The good thing with Delta is they finally have non-stop flights from Boston to Athens so now no need to get a connecting flight somewhere which adds to the length of the day which is already long.
Good luck finding a reasonable flight home but it doesn't look like prices are coming down from their already high prices for this year.
Still holding out for price to drop though!
Posted by
OP
20 posts
I am doing that for the same reasons you cite. However, Delta's site is a mess today. I've been trying to make the same reservations since 10:30am. I keep getting kicked at various stages, even after paying.