Best East Coast City for Direct Flights to Italy

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Non stop flights IT to US

mosesrus - I vote for New York City JFK. Doesn't Atlanta have direct flight to Europe as well? Nashville is alot closer to Atlanta.

My guess is that airfare will be a bit lower and options more numerous from NYC than from DC. I don't know where Philadelphia would fit in. I flew non-stop to Rome in 2015, but there may have been just the one flight.

There is considerable risk involved in booking a separate flight to an eastern gateway. If something goes wrong with that short hop and you miss the transatlantic flight, you'll loose the full value of the round-trip to Europe. If that's going to make you feel you need to spend a night at the US gateway, the hotel room will be a costly additional expense.

I would select an airport that has the most competition to the city in Italy that is your destination. For example, there are at least four airlines that have nonstops between JFK and Rome: Delta, Alitalia, American & Norwegian. The more competition, the greater the supply, the more competitive the airfares.

Next, you are coming from Nashville. I would also look at the convenience factor. I would recommend doing your entire itinerary between Nashville and your Italian destination airport on one ticket. Do not buy separate tickets because if you are late to arrive at the East Coast airport of your choice and you miss your flight to Italy, you will have to buy new roundtrip tickets between that airport and your Italian Destiination airport as that return flight will also be canceled. So please, one ticket for your entire round trip itinerary.

Give yourself at least 2 1/2 hours cushion at the East Coast airport of your choice to allow for delays. Even on one ticket, if you miss that international flight, the airline will put you on the next flight that has available seating which could be the next day. You would still have to pay for overnight accommodation.

Many people here do not like JFK and that is primarily because if you fly into one terminal and must depart from another terminal (not including transiting between terminals 2 & 4 which can be done Airside by jitney meaning not going through security again), you have to take the air train and then go through security. That is a nightmare. So if you are considering JFK, verify into what terminal your Nashville flight arrives and make sure the departing terminal at JFK for Italy is the same terminal again except with regards to terminals 2 and 4 which have an air side jitney. Then, you are fine.

Unfortunately your question is impossible for others to answer.

How exact do you define "best"? That's quite subjective. Do you mean the cheapest (that's not a simple thing to predict either, with constantly shifting and non-rational flight prices)? The most convenient (and what exactly does that mean to you)? One that gets you to Europe fastest? One with the shortest layover? One with the best lounges and food?

How exactly do you prioritize each of these factors? How willing are you do pay more for a "nicer" flight? How willing are you to put up with various annoyances/inconveniences (multiple stops, long layovers, crazy routings, etc.) to save a few bucks?

Probably a mix of some of these things, but you have to look at what's available and weight each option.

I'd suggest you start with just looking at what your overall options are to get there, then drill down into details and compare. For starters, you can look at Google Flights and Flight Connections.

I don't know where Philadelphia would fit in...

Philadelphia is a bit odd. It's a legacy hub from US Air (like Charlotte), before American Airlines gobbled US Air a few years ago. As such, it continues to be a hub for American Airlines, and has more flights that you would expect from a city of its size (same is true for Charlotte). Philadelphia also sits close enough to multiple, large US cities and suburbs so it's within reach of a lot of people. So you will often find a surprising number of flights to Europe (mostly on American Airlines) from Philadelphia. It's not my favorite airport to connect through (none of the major US east coast airports are) but it's also not the worst. American Airlines flies a lot of older, "narrow body" (single aisle) planes from there to Europe (which some people don't like) - the aircraft type is yet one more variable which some folks might consider (me, I like a 787 or some other newer, wide-body, two-aisle plane for long flights if possible).

The closest international airports to where I live are Philadelphia and Newark. On every flight to Europe I have taken the cost out of Newark has been significantly less than Philadelphia. The costs may be a bit higher than JFK in New York but the difference is no wheres near the additional cost, time and hassle to get to JFK.

We are about 2 hours from both PHL and IAD but have been using Newark EWR even though almost 4 hour drive for us
United has a good number of direct to Europe flights from EWR
Price is always a good bit lower than the other 2
Enough to make 4 hour drive worth it
Also a much easier drive than to IAD especially!

Try Washington Dulles Airport (IAD). I prefer it over any airport in NY.
International nonstop flights from IAD are listed in the below link. Rome (FCO) is the only nonstop destination in Italy.
https://flydulles.com/iad/travel-wisely?gclid=CjwKCAiA4Y7yBRB8EiwADV1haWTXPQAU2ZVS_y-f_338WyhmE8gVYnvOVMEEKB--dxqgoTo8ilh1mxoCNIkQAvD_BwE

In recent years, I have taken multiple non-stop flights from Philadelphia to Europe (Rome, Venice, and Paris). The plane used was always an Airbus A330, which has 2 aisles and a 2-4-2 configuration. I always make sure that my wife and I are sitting in one of the 2s and not one of the 4s. Even in Economy, I find this to be a comfortable plane.

Since we live not too far from PHL, we always now opt for the non-stop flight from PHL to Europe, instead of flying to another east coast airport (potentially saving some $) and then going to Europe from there.

On my first Europe trip many decades ago, we flew from PHL - JFK, then to FCO (Rome). Our flight from PHL to JFK was cancelled at the last minute, which created a nightmare for us at JFK. We managed to get on the Rome flight about a minute before they closed the door, but our bags were lost. From that day forward, we became carry-on only travelers.

Living in Ct we fly in and out of JFK heading to Rome in March and we able to get RT fare and car for 499.00 per person on Delta

Don't forget to look at Chicago to Europe. You might be surprised. We are flying RDU (NC) to PHL to Rome later this spring on AA.

If you live in Nashville but don't fly out of Nashville, you'll have to stay at your departure city. Do you have a way to do this cheaply - say, a friend with a spare bedroom? If not, it's probably not worth trying to fly out of any other city than Nashville, for the reasons Continental enumerated above. If you're on separate tickets and miss your flight to Europe, for any reason, YOU are responsible for fixing it, both financially and logistically. If you're all on one ticket (Nashville to Venice and Rome to Nashville, say), the airline is responsible for fixing things. You may be delayed, but you'll get there for no additional cost.

In your situation, I'd just look in a search engine like Kayak or Google Flights for flights from Nashville. If you're flying into one city and home from another, be sure to look at "multi city" or "multiple destination" tickets, rather than two one ways. See what comes up.

From Nashville, you'll have the option of changing in London Heathrow, as well as a wide variety of North American airports - Philadelphia, JFK, Newark, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Charlotte, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago...I'd choose based on the specifics of the ticket, rather than a particular airport.

Before booking, do look at what's involved in your particular transfer. As in Continental's example with JFK, it varies not only with each airport, but from airline to airline within an airport. Make sure you have enough cushion for a late arrival into your transfer airport, since these are all large and busy. If you have questions about a particular itinerary, post them here BEFORE booking!

I would much rather take a flight to the Schengen area from Nashville (assuming such a flight exists) have a layover and then a flight to my final destination in Italy
As opposed to taking a domestic flight to NY, DC or anywhere else as a first step with a direct flight from there to Italy

A.) You get immigration out of the way so you can get out of the destination airport quicker this way
B.). It allows you to choose many different locations in Italy to fly into

I would much rather take a flight to the Schengen area from Nashville (assuming such a flight exists) have a layover and then a flight to my final destination in Italy

Good point, and I agree: I always try to get a nonstop all the way to Europe, and if necessary then make any required connection there. I believe the only nonstop flight to Europe from Nashville is a daily British Airways flight to LHR.

Personally, I'm happy to pay a little more for a good flight. Searching for the absolute lowest price, excluding any other consideration, is not wise IMHO.