Need some advice on booking a flight while in Italy next year or before we go in May 2014. Have asked our agent for pricing and she can only come up with 2 right now -one thru Copenhagen the other thru Berlin. Takes a whole day out of our schedule. I know I will have to revamp but was under the impression there were cheap flights from Venice direct. Any suggestions on airlines? What site do you recommend for overnight train to check out prices?
Appreciate any help.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Check Ryan and Easyjet. You'd have to live with their rules, so note carefully.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4096 posts
www.skyscanner.com covers Europe's so-called budget airlines which often don't turn up on other international sites. Although you are a little early, you will see at least four airlines with non-stop flights to Paris. That includes the venerable Air France. Even with the inevitable extra fees, you should be able to buy a ticket for under $100 Cdn. I respect travel agents who have specialized knowledge. Yours does not know much about budget flights. Buy the ticket yourself, straight from the airline's own site. To prove my own would-be-agent credentials, ahem, let me warn you to be very careful about RyanAir, which offers several flights to "Paris" that actually land at Beauvais, well on the way to Belgium.
The earlier you buy budget tickets, the cheaper the price. Still, I'd wait until the start of 2014, reducing the danger of schedule changes.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Shelly, EasyJet has budget flights from Venice-Marco Polo to Paris-CDG. The flights are non-stop. Can't see next May yet but I do see fares as low as 42.99Euro for March. The earlier you book, the lower the fare. I'm betting your travel agent may know this but maybe he or she does not get a commission on the budget flight. If your TA does not know this as easy as non-professionals do on this website, I offer a big Hmmm! As for RyanAir, they don't fly out of most major airports. Venice-Treviso is not Venice-Marco Polo. It's actually an airport in nearby Treviso. Paris-Beauvais is a 90-minute bus ride from Paris. Still, they have really low air fares. But, they also have amazing extra fees that you must carefully read and understand.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16236 posts
Based on what you wrote my very first step would be to fire your travel agent for incompetence. These are the non stop options from VCE to Paris: Easyjet, airFrance, XL Airways.
Also RyanAir flies from Treviso TSF to Paris BVA. If you are willing to make one stop, then the options are infinite.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Roberto is right. You should not only fire that agent but take another look at all the advice she has given you. It's inexcusable to not know about Easyjet. Be very careful with RyanAir and hidden fees.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32404 posts
Shelley, I would highly recommend looking at EasyJet, which offers flights to both CDG and ORY. I've found that their prices are reasonable and predictable (ie: no surprises), and they use mainstream airports. EasyJet is my preferred budget airline in Europe, and I tend to fly one or more times with them every year. Be sure to read their Terms & Conditions carefully, especially related to luggage limits. If you think your checked luggage may be over the allowable limit, it's cheaper to pay for the excess at the time of booking rather than at the gate. Note that they usually only allow ONE carry-on item per passenger, and they ARE strict about that. They've recently adopted online check-in ONLY, so all there will be at the departure airport is a bag drop. Check-in and printing of boarding passes is done online. As is typical with many of the budget airlines, they use a "sliding scale" with the prices increasing as the flight fills up. Therefore, early bookers get the best prices. Also, they're now offering seat seleçtion and priority boarding, at extra cost of course. Happy travels!