Getting to Palermo

Edited: You really left yourself open to sarcastic comments with the original, vague question. Thanks for adding more info. However, my answer is still the same:

If you're flying within Europe, try www.skyscanner.com. From North America, other search engines like Kayak may be more appropriate. Quite a few flight options will include a connection in Rome.

As the others have said, you need to provide more specific details. Are you referring to a flight from the U.S. or from somewhere within Europe? The answer will depend on your specific circumstances.

Salg45,

I didn't read your original post, however, I want to express my thoughts about this forum.

"Being new to this type of forum, I had no idea that this question would elicit such unkind remarks."

I am fairly new to this forum & have read numerous posts & replies and all I can say is that my experience has been positive.
Most, if not all, the people that participate on this forum are kind & very helpful ( and by the way, most are volunteers).

Many go out of their way to give you very detailed information about anything you'd like to know in terms of transportation, accommodations, restaurants, favorite "must see" sights, etc, etc...

Don't take offense;
If your question is not very specific, then it's difficult to give you the answer that you're looking for.

When I was planning my trip a couple of months ago, I received a ton of helpful information!

I have not traveled to Sicily so won't be able to help you... but do stay a while & wait for replies as
I'm sure others will chime in with the information you're looking for.

Here is a thread that you might be interested in reading;
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/planning-trip-to-sicily

I flew to Rome and then took an Alitalia flight to Palermo - it was less than an hour.
This was a few years ago and I remember the flight was $90 - but again, that was
a few years ago.

We traveled Florence to Palermo on Ryanaire. Very inexpensive with advance purchase.

Sometimes the folks on this forum get a bit snarky, but on the whole, they're very helpful.

This last summer we flew United/Lufthansa from Tulsa to D.C. to Munich to Palermo. It made for a long trip, but it was the least expensive option. The leg from Munich to Palermo was via Air Dolomiti, and was the best part of the whole flight. Very clean, comfortable, professional, with real snacks! You never know...

saig,

Thanks for the additional information but a bit more would be helpful, in order to offer more specific suggestions. Are you only travelling in Sicily and then returning directly home, or will you be going elsewhere in Europe after that?

There may be a few direct flights to Palermo from the U.S. (I haven't checked), but the more likely scenario is using a connecting flight from one of the major hubs such as London, Paris or Frankfurt as you mentioned. Using London may involve changing airports (ie: LHR to LGW), while Paris / CDG is not the most "user friendly" airport so many here try to avoid that. Frankfurt is a VERY large airport, but surprisingly well organized and efficient. The easiest method will be to book a code share flight, so that you don't have to deal with your checked luggage at intermediate airports.

Palermo (PMO) has connections with many European cities but most are with low cost airlines. If you want to fly from the US straight to PMO with a major airline the options are really only two and they are with Alitalia or Lufthansa:

1. Via Rome (FCO) with Alitalia (Alitalia is part of the Sky Team alliance, like Delta and AirFrance-KLM)

2. Via Munich (MUC) or via Frankfurt (FRA) with Lufthansa Regional. The first operated AirDolomiti, the second by Lufthansa Cityline, both part of the Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa is part of the Star Alliance group, like United. This option (both via MUC or FRA) is seasonal (summer only)

There are no flights from London LHR or Paris CDG to PMO anymore, therefore connecting via those hubs is not a good option.

All other options are with low cost airlines. In that case you need to allow plenty of time for the connections, because major airlines will not transfer baggage to the low cost and you need to retrieve your baggage and check in again for the rest of the trip. In this case it would be a good idea to arrive a day earlier (Rome for example) and also spend a couple of nights in Rome before flying back home to the US.

There used to be a seasonal weekly non stop JFK-PMO with Meridiana. Not sure if still operating.

My experience is 4 years old but for what it's worth....non stop Lufthansa Denver to Frankfurt- connection to Rome and then Alitalia connection to Palermo. Very easy and as stated earlier, the Frankfurt airport is very efficient and easy to maneuver.

My M.O. is to fly from home (U.S.) to wherever in Europe is cheapest; for me, that's usually Frankfurt or Munich. Then, look for an inexpensive intra-European flight to Sicily. I generally spend one night in the city where I originally land so as not to worry about connections on the same day. We have flown to Sicily from both Munich and Brussels.

I always fly into Rome via Delta and use Alitalia to get to Palermo from Rome. This is for convenience, and my vacation days are worth money to me. I think it would be a huge inconvenience to go through Germany.

Alitalia is more civilized than Ryanair and a lot of the cut rate airlines, because they are more generous with their baggage allowances, and the US/Rome flight arrives early in the day, and you can get to Palermo easily on the same day without wasting a night spent in a city you really don't want to be in. That's my advice for what it's worth.

As said above, it really depends on the total contours of your trip. Where else are you going besides Palermo? Even for a just-Sicily itinerary, you may do better with using Catania airport (which is actually larger, with more flights) for at least one leg.

If Sicily is part of a larger Italy trip, there are flights to Palermo from many Italian cities (Rome has by far the most, but if you're already in Italy, there's no need to detour to Rome to get to Sicily).

If you want to go right to Sicily from the US, start by seeing what shows up in Kayak. Consider open jaws (multi-city) - into one city and out of another. If you get an itinerary all on one ticket, you are "protected"; the airline is responsible for getting you to Palermo in case of a delay or other problem on one of the legs.

If you are going to fly to Rome on one ticket and then from Rome to Sicily on a separate ticket, consider doing what I did (I was using miles to get to Rome, but couldn't use them to get to Sicily). Buy two tickets from Rome to Sicily, one for a few hours after your scheduled landing in Rome, one towards the end of that day. You will use one ticket and throw away the other, but it's still cheaper than a last minute ticket if you miss your connection.

If you are using Alitalia for domestic flights within Italy, look at their "International" website as well as their US one. Sometimes prices are lower on the International one, or deals are available on that site that are not sold on the US site. And, particularly if you are checking a bag, consider Alitalia; by the time you add fees charged by the budget carriers, they may not be any cheaper.