Airline ticket price?

It’s a longer flight?

What destination airport are you using?

We will also be traveling to Italy in May (flying from Newark a day earlier than you and returning a few days later than you) and prices are a lot higher than for trips we planned and were unable to take in 2020 and 2022. A friend who has been to Italy multiple times since 2022 says prices are consistently 50% higher now than in 2019 or even 2022. Unfortunately, it appears it’s not only airfare, but — at least in the big cities for tourists— everything else, too. Rooms in the Campo de Fiori neighborhood of Rome are much much more expensive than they were in 2022. We booked a room for our May trip back in in September 2023, and a friend booked the exact same room type in the same hotel for the same dates 2 months after we booked and the price was €50 per night higher than what we paid. I suspect it’s partly what the market will bear, and hotel and food prices just keep going up and everything aisle going to be very very expensive in May. The less touristy cities still seem to have reasonable hotel prices.
Having said all that, you might want to book flights that are easy to change if prices drop. We chose to go with fully refundable tickets for maximum flexibility, but some airlines have pretty decent change policies on anything other than basic economy. In our case we booked tickets in August because prices just kept going up. I continued to check fares regularly and they dropped enough in late September that we canceled and rebooked on the same flight for a lot less. Since then prices for our flights have remained high, but they vary a lot from week to week. A couple of weeks ago United added a second nonstop from Newark, and initially the fares on that second flight were lower than anything I’d seen in a long time. I’m seeing some good deals in for the same flight in April, so it’s possible that in another month there may be some deals for May. But it’s a huge crapshoot. You can set google flight alerts and keep checking regularly. Yes, you will be paying more than in the past. But there may still be a few bargains out there if you keep looking or grab the first decent fare that will work for you but book in a way that provides you with the flexibility to make changes if prices drop. Good luck!

In general, flight prices are considerably higher than they were in 2019. Blame the pandemic, pent-up demand, and staffing problems,etc.

I just checked on British Airways, and for your dates, the RT Chicago-Milan and back was $1116; For FCO in Rome, it is $1244. That is for the Economy product with checked bags only; the next step up is several hundred $$ more.

Smaller airports like Florence, etc, can be more expensive. Trains are your friend.

just checked on British Airways, and for your dates, the RT Chicago-Milan and back was $116;

Me thinks a digit is missing..... ?

Italy’s inflation rate which was more than 12% last year is one factor. Rome is expensive to fly to because Rome is the default choice of arrival city for so many travelers going to Italy. Naples—70 minutes away from Rome by high-speed train— can be far less expensive to fly into. Naples’ airport is only 3 miles from the train station which makes transfers a breeze.

Chicago to Rome Round trip on those dates is $692 on Turkish Airlines.

We just bought tickets to Rome this spring and they were 3 times what we used to spend. This is our 4th time buying international tickets post Covid. We used miles for the kids and that is another nightmare scenario. Insane amount of miles required for direct flights from Atlanta to Rome. We cheated a bit last spring flying to London by flying from Atlanta to Boston and then flew from there to London. You can play around with those kind of options too. We did the same last fall to get to the Dordogne by flying to JFK from ATL on Delta to Paris then a separate flight from Paris to Bordeaux on Air France. Total nightmare. Air France strike. We ended up having to rent an 800€ car to drive to Sarlat! We had a fun time doing it but will never do it again. Just book the easiest flight would be my advice.

Italy flights always seems to be more expensive than other destinations. I think there are fewer flights and higher demand.

My daughter is traveling for semester and we are visiting easter week - prices outrageous. that said, i found better deals on swiss air vs united site. my direct flight to rome is united flight "operated by swissair" same flight - less money. still expensive though....my daughter's flights are newark/zurich/florence (and florence/munich/newark return). i am going newark/rome - returning florence/zurich/newark. the options through munich were less $. there are so many chicago/newark flights so maybe this is an option for you.

I’m shocked at the price of (air) tickets
& My daughter is traveling for semester and we are visiting Easter week - prices outrageous.

Perhaps if you look at the cost per mile to get from FCO to Termini and compare that to the cost per mile of a flight from US to Rome, the flight cost will not look so bad. Land transport $1-$2 per mile vs 10-15 cents per air mile

The cheapest way to fly to anywhere in Europe is always:

• fly the cheapest flight you can find to anywhere in Europe (London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, it doesn't matter); then
• fly any of Europe's low cost carriers (EasyJet, RyanAir, Eurowings, Vueling ...) from wherever you land to wherever you're going.

airfare prices fluctuate with easter holiday. my flights would be less "outrageous" if i was going a week later. but, okay....

Our trip is planned for May 5-21. Looking at ticket prices I’m shocked at the price of tickets compared to other destinations in Europe. Most tickets are $600 to $1000 dollars more. We will be flying out of Chicago. Any ideas why Italy is so much more expensive?

ORD -> FCO $700
https://www.google.com/travel/flights?tfs=CBsQAhooEgoyMDI0LTA1LTA1agwIAxIIL20vMDFfZDRyDAgCEggvbS8wNmM2MhooEgoyMDI0LTA1LTIxagwIAhIIL20vMDZjNjJyDAgDEggvbS8wMV9kNEABSAFSA1VTRHABenRDalJJUmxoamJXOUpVa05RU0d0QlFXWmhSSGRDUnkwdExTMHRMUzB0TFMxdmVXZDRNMEZCUVVGQlIxZFlSazlCUkU1NVF6QkJFZ3hVU3pFNE5ueFVTekU0TmpFYUN3amltd1FRQWhvRFZWTkVPQnh3NHBzRZgBAbIBEhgBIAEqDAgCEggvbS8wNmM2Mg&hl=en-US&curr=USD&sa=X&ved=0CAoQtY0DahgKEwj4xpTdyMSDAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQrwM

They can charge more because people will pay more. Another option is fly to germany/switzerland/france or w/e and then take a train down, but then you are paying in time. You could also take a domestic/low cost carrier on a separate ticket after arriving on the continent.
Choose your own adventure!

We are flying from Chicago to Florence in October. We decided to take a chance on SAS. The only surprise with them was having to pay for seat selection after we already upgraded to Go Smart to check one piece of luggage. All in, it was less than 1600 E for two people. We have a long layover, but for 29 E chose to use their to have breakfast and shower at their lounge. We know SAS is in Chapter 11, but with KLM/Air France investing in SAS, I am not that worried. We did add financial failure to our medical evacuation/repatriation travel policy.