Cheapest airfare to Italy on Aeroflat and Turkish airlines

I know some people have used Turkish to get to Europe, usually taking advantage of the long change in Instanbul to visit there for a few days. Everyone raved about the service, far superior to any US carrier and most European ones. The problem, and reason for the cheap prices, is the required change of planes in Instanbul including a very long (10+ hours often) layover time. It adds a day on each end to your travel time. Everything comes with a price, including cheap airfares. And I wouldn't fly Aeroflot on a dare. Maybe someone has some experience on that route.

I flew Turkish on the short flight from Tel Aviv, very comfortable and good service. I am now booked on a round-trip to Chicago via Istanbul with short layovers - 1.5 hours outbound (I spoke to their offices about another matter and they assured me that was plenty of time) and just over an hour on the return. I don't know if it matters to you, but you get 2 free checked bags.

Friends of mine have flown Turkish to Canada and elsewhere without any complaints.

I flew Turkish Air from New York to Istanbul, and it was MUCH better than US carriers. The food, in particular, was far superior to what I've gotten on other airlines. I also flew subsidiaries of Turkish Air (Anadolu Jet and Bora Jet) within Turkey, and they were also nicer than domestic US flights. (There's a modicum of legroom, you get a free sandwich or slice of cake as well as a beverage, and the flight attendants are actually pleasant; it's been said that flying in Turkey is "old fashioned" in the best possible way). So, I'd fly on Turkish Air again without hesitation. However, as said above, the problem if you're going from the US to anywhere in Europe but Istanbul is the long layovers, as well as the fact that the flights themselves take longer since you're doubling back. But if you don't mind the extra time, it's fine.

I flew Aeroflot from New York to Moscow, which was also fine (certainly, no worse than Delta, their competitor on this route). The plane was a new Airbus and I had no problems with food, legroom, flight attendants, etc. But I don't know how their service is on other routes. I assume that the flight to New York is very important to them, and will have better service, newer planes, etc than most of their other routes.

I didn't change planes at either Sheremetyevo or Atatürk airports, so I can't comment directly on that. Both Turkey and Russia require a visa if you're staying there; I don't know if one is required to change planes there. I can say that going through immigration in both Russia and Turkey was very time consuming, so if you need to do that to change planes, avoid these airports at all costs.