Best Airline from U.S. to Venice

The best airline is the one with the best fare, best travel time, fewest connections, etc. That may be different for you than for me, depending on where you are starting out.

Last year, I got a direct AA flight from PHL to Venice using award miles. I was starting in Philly for this trip, so this was ideal. Direct flight usually beats everything else unless the fare is much higher. A connection anywhere adds not only time but uncertainty.

So the question is: which direct flights options do you have from your home city(s)? Let us know - you might have only one choice or perhaps two or three at most - and we can weigh in. Go to Google Flights and start checking.

If there are no direct flights, what are the best connection options? I usually prefer a connection in Europe on the way over, not in the US, because I don't want to risk a delayed or canceled flight in the US for probably an overnight flight - meaning I'm likely to get to Europe a day late. If I can at least get to Europe, I'll get there probably in the morning and have all day to pick up a later connecting flight if my first flight arrives late.

Non-stops to Venice are from Chicago and Philadelphia on American AIrlines.
Delta flies seasonally into Atlanta and JFK, and I suppose it's talking late Spring & Summer.
Otherwise, you'll have to fly to another gateway European airport and connect to another flight going into Venice.
Note that depending on "east coast" airport you can go through, sometimes you can fly Norwegian Air Shuttle and catch one of their connecting flights into Venice from Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki or Stockholm. They are budget air carriers all the way.

Thanks for your responses. I'd be flying out of Logan Airport in Boston to Venice at the end of July and from Rome home to Boston mid-August. There aren't any direct flights but connections. If I do Swiss Air, the connection is Zurich and Frankfurt if I do Lufthansa. Air France takes me into Paris.

If you're flying out of Boston, you do have a number of budget European air carriers. Get into a number of cities in Europe, and you can catch a RyanAir or Norwegian or a number of other flights into Venice for $100 or so. And they charge by the leg and don't hold you hostage to buying round trip tickets.

I'd probably avoid Air France via Paris (unless that's really a Delta flight) - just a preference. A single connection in Frankfurt or Zurich would probably be better, even though I've never flown through either airport; CDG can be a circus.

Violating my own rule above, I might take the AA flight via PHL both ways, if you can get a good fare (as seen on Google Flights). There are a lot of BOS-PHL flights. The recommended connection is only a 1:11 connection in PHL. There is a flight leaving BOS an hour earlier; I'd try to book that one to make your connection just over two hours in PHL. If for some reason that is very delayed out of BOS, I see another options on Iberia (Oneworld Alliance partner) via Madrid - you could ask to be put on that instead and get into Venice a few hours later, assuming there's room.

I would pick a flight change in Zurich over Frankfurt, somthat would weigh in favor of the Swiss Air flight.

But is there some reason you did not include British Airways in your list? They have a nice schedule of flights, departing BOS at 19:15 and arriving in Venice 10 hours later at 12:05 local time. There is a two-hour layover at Heathrow, which is long enough but not too long. The overseas leg is on an A380 which is a very comfortable airplane.

The downside to BA is the fee to choose your seats in advance (starting around $36 for standard economy seats). Just factor this not when you compare prices.

I would certainly consider British Airways. I've never traveled oversees so I'm only going by friends' recommendations. Thanks for your advice. I'll look into it!

When you have a connecting flight in a foreign country, do you deplane and need to go through customs again? If connecting flights are 1 hour, would that give me enough time?

Some airports are more efficient than others. If you have an hour connection, look at what happens if you miss the connection. For example, if you fly to Frankfurt and have to fly from there to Venice...if you are late into Venice, are there direct flights to Venice later in the day, on the same airline? Chances are you'd get put on the next flight if you miss your connection (assuming you booked it all as one ticket).

You will go through immigration ("customs" is a 10 second walk past a customs agent without stopping for most people) when you enter the Schengen Area - which is most European countries but not all of them. If you fly first to Paris, Frankfurt, or Zurich, these are all in the Schengen Area, so you go through immigration there. Your next flight on to Venice (Italy is also in the Schengen Area) is like a US domestic flight - no need to go through immigration when you arrive in Venice in that case.

However, the UK is not in the Schengen Area. So if you fly through London, you WON'T go through immigration there - you'll stay "airside" in London (go through security again) and not go through immigration until you get to Venice, when finally entering the Schengen Area.

Yes, you must get off the plane either way and change to another one on to Venice.

In order of preference:
Lufthansa Via FRA
Swiss Via ZRH
AirFrance Via CDG

Swiss is part of Lufthansa and both are good.

However Lufthansa has more flights from FRA to VCE, therefore in case you miss the connection in FRA, it’s not a big deal, you will have plenty of options later in the day. Connections at FRA are easy with Lufthansa. Same terminal. You arrive at gates Z upstairs, just come down the escalators and your Venice connections are one floor below. Great concept.

ZRH is also easy to connect.

Air France has also many flights from Paris CDG to VCE. However CDG is a huge monster where you need at least 2.5 hours layover to make the connection comfortably.

I wouldn’t consider BA Via London Heathrow. LHR is not connection friendly like FRA or ZRH. Also British has only one daily from LHR to VCE. If you miss the connection, they put you in a bus to London Gatwick where you catch a flight to VCE (most BA flights from London to VCE are at Gatwick, not Heathrow). Way too much hassle if it happens.

Swiss looks like the cheapest, uses A330 and A340 aircraft for transatlantic flights. In economy, the seat pitch is 32" and the width is 17.3". It has 2-4-2 seating, meaning you are never more than one seat from the aisle. Zurich airport is relatively small and transfers have always been smooth.

Lufthansa uses a 747 to Frankfurt and in economy has a 31" seat pitch and 17.1" width. The seating is 3-4-3. The return transatlantic is an A330 with a 31" seat pitch and a 17" width with 2-4-2 seating. Frankfurt is a bigger airport so transfer distances could be longer.

ItalyTravelerSoon - I would suggest that you pick a different airline than British Airways. Since they are partners with American Airlines, I have flown their international business class several times. Their business class is so bad, I can't imagine what their economy class is like.

Thanks for your responses. I'd be flying out of Logan Airport in Boston to Venice at the end of July and from Rome home to Boston mid-August. There aren't any direct flights but connections. If I do Swiss Air, the connection is Zurich and Frankfurt if I do Lufthansa. Air France takes me into Paris.

I'd pick the flight that costs the least for the level of service I wish to use to travel. I prefer business class when I travel overseas. That makes a difference when I travel.

One suggestion - if you have ANY miles with an airline, sign up for their frequent flyer program. You'll receive emails about upcoming sales. Having any standing at all with an airline may also help you if there's a flight issue/change during the flight.

Our favorite airline for travel to Europe is Aer Lingus. For some reason, the Aer Lingus fare seems high relative to other airlines for your itinerary - perhaps that will change. We have used Aer Lingus from both Hartford and Boston.

One of the best things about Aer Lingus is that you can go through US customs and immigration in Dublin on the way home.

I have flown through London, Frankfort , and Zurich, all several times

Zurich is easiest hands down. Very low stress compared to other two.

We flew Delta direct from Cincy to Paris CDG this year, and it was a nightmare. The plane landed in some remote area of the airport, and we had to disembark with our carry ons down a metal stairway to the tarmac and then get loaded onto a bus to take us to the gate. Then we had the added angst of wondering if our flight to Venice on Air France was going to be cancelled due to their strike that lasted for months. After that experience we vowed never to fly into or out of CDG and to avoid Air France at all costs. I discovered that they have strikes frequently. We did fly from Zurich to CDG on our return from Switzerland. That airport is more easily navigated.

Adding my vote for Zurich--the airport is small and easy to navigate. Avoid CDG like the plague, it is just as bad as other posters have stated... if anything, they've undersold the potential horrors that await you there!

I really appreciate everyone's advice. This is a wonderful forum filled with great support! Thank you all!

I have not looked at flight schedule for East Coast to Venice. However something to consider would be flying into Rome or Milan, and then taking a train to Venice. Rome to Venice is a little under four pretty comfortable hours, Milan about three hours; the rain blasting along at about 200 km/hour while you enjoy a drink in the bar car or sit in a seat way more comfortable than an airline seat. Use the On Board Wi Fi, and enjoy the scenery. The last bit, from Mestre to Venice, takes you across the lagoon, pretty slowly, so even before you arrive, you’ll realise that Venice is all about water.
The train to Venice deposits you right on the Grand Canal, a lovely arrival.

I have gone to Venice as Peter S describes, but under the circumstances of needing at least one connection to get to Venice or Milan, and it takes approximately same time for and cost for each, might as well fly into Venice. When I did it, I saved $300 flying into Milan, then taking the train to Venice made a lot of sense.

We recently took the non-stop flight from Philadelphia to Venice on American Airlines. We returned on the same route. There were no issues. However, I believe that this flight does not run all year long.