I plan to depart from US East Coast to Florence in May. I am looking for direct flights from anywhere on the East Coast to Italy, Spain or Portugal (I can take the train from Spain or Portugal). It would be perfect if I could do that on an airline that provides bidding on a type of seat that fully reclines. Here are my questions...
1. Are there any flight tracking tools that are the better than SkyScanner and google flights to track prices?
2. Which US East Coast airports are the most likely to offer the best prices to Rome or Milan or even Lisbon or Spain (I can take train from these places to Florence)?
3. The most up-to-date and complete list I can find of airlines that offer bidding to upgrade a seat is on simpleflying. Are you aware of a more complete list that is up-to-date?
Thank you!
Posted by
Rural Georgia
2115 posts
or even Lisbon or Spain (I can take train from these places to Florence)
I just checked and it takes 25 hours to train from Madrid to Florence.
Posted by
OP
67 posts
Thanks, Doug! I guess the fast train doesn't make that trip! I don't mind spending the night - or even several nights in Spain or Portugal before departing on the train or taking Ryanair. Is Ryanair still the only budget airline over there?
Posted by
FL
99 posts
We are heading to Florence as well from the East Coast in May. The best I've been able to find is MIA to Rome for $1225, JFK to Rome $1271, or ATL to Rome for 1818. All on ITA/nonstop.
Posted by
Florida, USA
229 posts
We are taking TAP airlines to fly from Miami to Lisbon. Spending some days in Portugal. Then flying on TAP from Lisbon to Florence. TAP allows a few days layover in Portugal for no extra charges before continuing to your final destination.
Posted by
357 posts
These airlines do not offer the ability to set your own amount to bid for a chance at an upgrade, though they may allow fixed-price upgrades using cash and/or miles:
Air France/KLM.
American Airlines.
British Airways.
Delta Air Lines.
Emirates.
Qatar Airways.
United Airlines.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10208 posts
Sometimes those airlines listed don’t offer any upgrades no matter the cost even for medallion members, learned from personal experience.
Barcelona to Florence is about 14 hours, three changes of trains. It rolls at high-speed on the portions where the tracks are built for it. Check https://www.rome2rio.com/ for travel times between locations.
Veuling may have flights. I’ve flown Barcelona to Bologna, followed by the high-speed train to Florence, which takes only 30 minutes in a tunnel through mountains.
Posted by
Washington DC
27170 posts
Use skyscanner.com to check schedules and fares for intra-European flights. You will not be limited to RyanAir. You would do well, as Bets suggested, to consider flying into a city other than Florence. The Florence airport is comparatively small. You may have better luck going into Pisa or Bologna.