Best Seattle to Rome Flights for Teen Traveler Flying Alone

Try sticking to one airline...it will be a lot easier to connect, and if there are any problems, they will be easier to fix.

Janet,

What time of year was your daughter planning to fly to Rome? You might also have a look at Air Transat out of Vancouver. They have direct flights to Rome (weekly, I believe), but these may not start until about April or May. I always prefer a direct flight as there's no worries about connecting flights, layovers, etc.

They appear to have some of their rates listed on the website for next year. I did a brief search using 18 June as the departure date, and found a flight to Rome for Cdn.$1219 return (your actual cost would depend on the exchange rate between the Cdn$ & US$ at the time). With that departure date, they don't show a return flight until 03 July unfortunately. Travel time was listed as 11H:20M.

Although this wouldn't provide you with a stop in NYC, this might be one option to consider if the dates work.

Happy travels!

In addition to those Steve listed, there is also NW (now Delta)/KLM through Amsterdam.

I've flown Seattle to Rome twice. First time was Continental through Newark and the second was the above-mentioned Northwest through Amsterdam.

Generally, I prefer to get across the Atlantic as quickly as possible. If you miss an early connection from Amsterdam to Rome, there will be a later flight. If you miss the JFK - Rome flight, you will probably have to wait until the next day. This happened to us once going through Chicago to London. The flight from Seattle was late, we missed the connection by an hour, and the next plane didn't depart until 5pm the following day, costing us a full day of our vacation.

And JFK is notorious for delays. A friend's teenage son flew Seattle - Paris through JFK back in June and sat on the runway for 3 hours before the plane finally took off.

I will say I didn't have any problems going through Newark, and it was even on Alitalia, which has a horrible reputation, for the second leg. Perhaps I just got lucky. In any case, I don't think I'd fly through Newark or JFK if Amsterdam, London, or Frankfurt were an option.

Janet,, I do not know where exactly you are in Washington,, but flying out of Vancouver( Canada) is a good option for finding direct flights to Rome. As Ken suggested,, Air Transat does direct( in high season anyways) flights,, and you can upgrade her to a premium economy flight for only a little bit more then then a regular fare.

I'd suggest you not put her on a flight she needs to transfer planes in Europe before getting to Rome. Although your daughter is a seasoned traveler, I'm not sure navigating Frankfurt or Amsterdam on the way is a great idea - they are big, busy airports, overwhelming for even the most seasoned jet-lagged grownup.

Also, I have no idea if this is an issue, but you might check with the Italian consulate about any restrictions or issues with an unaccompanied minor traveler. The last thing she needs is a hassle at immigration after going all that way.

I found Frankfurt and Schiphol easy to navigate. Personally, I would prefer to transfer in Europe than in US.

Airport personel will always help travelers.

Take a look at Air Canada and Icelandair. There won't be a direct route but they fly over the pole for shorter flights. They had some great rates last I looked.

My husband has flown SAS twice from Seattle to Copenhagen and then onto Frankfurt. You might want to look at connecting flights from Copenhagen to Rome. He really liked SAS and the flight was not overly long due to being able to fly that Northern curve. Scandanavia is a good place to land too, since English is pretty commonly spoken.

I'd second Jo on SAS. Great service - Copenhagen is also not the largest airport which could be a bonus.

Heathrow and Schilpol are both pretty easy to Navigate. Though I think (from experience) the BA staff would take better care of your daughter.

One more suggestion,i don't think anybody mentioned yet.I'm pretty sure British Airlines,fly out of Seattle to Rome(changin flights at Gatwick).I hate them ,but you can find a deal at their site www.ba.com.Good luck.

Janet,if you still looking,i just saw a fare on lufthansa Seatle-Milan $310 one way.She can take the train Milan-Rome.Check it out at their site,see if you like that one.Good luck.

I'm flying to Europe twice next year out of Seatac and Lufthansa seems to have the most convenient and most inexpensive flights I can find. I've flown on them before and the service is wonderful.

SAS does not fly direct from Seattle any more.

Is there any particular reason you want to connect through JFK? We always choose a direct flight to Europe, preferring to avoid the US connection (which can often face delays).

I would look into Lufthansa. They have "student" rates according to their website.

I just priced Lufthansa Airlines for Seattle to Istanbul next May and they want over twice as much as Air France - AF=$1071 L=$2248! You should try to use a consolidator on the internet, something like SideStep, to get lots of airlines and prices. Good luck. charlie