Purchasing airfare?

In an earlier post you said your first retirement trip would be September 2017 and now you mention September 2016. If it is as soon as September 2016 you should already be looking at airfares to see what the beginning of shoulder rate pricing is. Also it would be helpful to know what Italian airport you hope to fly out of and which major Midwestern cities you live near. There are only a couple of "Midwestern" airports that have non-stop Delta flights. Are you needing to fly Delta because of some specific reason? If it is to use frequent flyer miles it may be too late for September 2016. Could you please provide a few more details? I like researching flights and prices but I don't quite have enough to go on.

Mona, yes, we were overwhelmed with research, but we are narrowing things down, and another couple is joining us, so we are aiming for Sept 2016.
Flying out of CMH (Columbus Ohio) to Venice, and home from Rome. Delta is the only airline I have been able to find with flights to JFK or ?Philly, that then fly directly to Venice. Really hoping to only have one connection departing and arriving.

I haven't had much success looking at flight schedules/fares for this September-unsure if that's because they are sold out or I am just not searching correctly. I was using Kayak, but when I went directly to Delta's site, there were more flights...
Itinerary (as of today-still open to research and suggestions):
Venice 3 nights
Florence 4 nights
CT 3 nights
Rome 4 nights
Will be traveling by train in Italy
Thanks for your help!!! :)

Don't limit yourself to JFK. Newark or Chicago will have international flights too. You may fly out of Newark, back through JFK. We went through US Air/Lufthansa leaving from Newark. Connecting flights in Frankfurt both coming & going,

Hi, I purchase our flights as soon as we have dates nailed down....after watching the prices a few weeks. One advantage that your husband will like is that you can check out the seats available, and if early, you will be able to secure those front row Economy Plus seats behind 1st class, giving you extra leg room.

Also, if this is your first trip, try to arrive in Venice as early as possible in the morning to maximize your day and find your hotel. Select a place that's on the islands, not around Mestre - which some hotels state as "Venice".

Enjoy your trip!

If you're interested in going to Italy 15 months from now, you've got plenty of time to obtain tickets. If you buy tickets too far in advance you might end up paying too much. If possible, start searching fares five-six months before you leave for European trips.

As of right now, the direct flights from the U.S. into Venice-Marco Polo Airport are Delta from Atlanta and JFK (both seasonally) and U.S. Airways from Philadelphia (seasonally.) Who knows what "seasonally" means? You can fly from Toronto direct on Air Canada Rouge. Most travelers take a flight into London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris or Munich and catch a connecting flight into Venice.

When airfares are at an all time high, you should wait until Spring, 2016 to purchase your flights. There is no shortage in the availability of seats, even to those wanting to fly Economy Plus for more legroom.

Yes, direct flights from US to Venice is pretty much Delta from JFK and American/US Air from Philadelphia.
September 2016 is more than a year away. 11 months is the norm. So there is nothing for sale now.
You can start "window shopping" now. If you are looking to save money, Milan, as of today, is the cheapest place to fly to in Italy. That could change next year. That is because Emirates is flying an A-380 with 489 seats everyday from JFK and that has driven down the prices the other carriers can charge.

As far as whether you should buy as soon as seats are available, probably some time in October? Remember, the first price that is published is the, "Let's see if anyone bites an this one" price. Keep in mind you have alternatives. If you marry yourself to the "I must have this flight", you are at their mercy.

I did a quick search on ITA software then an actual multi-city (not one way or round trip) search on Orbitz and found reasonable connections and flight times out of Columbus through Philadelphia going and from Rome through Charleston returning to Columbus for $1287. That doesn't seem too bad to me but I'm used to west coast prices that are typically higher than east coast flights. Connecting Columbus to an east coast airport where you'll pick up the non-stop part of your flight adds cost. Watch the fares for a couple of weeks and see what's comfortable for your group.

If you decide to book a flight from Columbus, be sure to book both sections of your outward and return tickets through the same booking site so if anything happens to one leg of your flight, you will be routed on the next available flight.

Good luck and have fun. We just retired this year and it has been great.

Or many people prefer to have their one stop be IN Europe -- we connected through Amsterdam (AMS) into Rome and from Venice since Italy is you-can't-get-there-from-SFO.

Looking back to our October 2012 Italy trip, we bought tickets in July. (Can't believe we did it so late!) Other trips we used airline miles and so booked as soon as the seats were available online (11 months ahead) There are lots of people who will say "x days ahead" is the best time for low price -- but nobody can tell you for sure when the absolute lowest price will be for your most convenient flight schedule with available Comfort Plus seats.
Happy planning!!

Whoops, I got ahead of myself. I was looking at September 2015. Now you know a base price for this year FWIW but that may have no bearing on 2016! Sorry. You can start checking 330 days before your September 2016 target date to see what kind of pricing they will set for next fall. I check ITA software so I can add nearby airports and to get a big picture of where the pricing peaks and valleys of the month fall. Then I go to a booking engine or the airline's own website to actually book the flight. If you are wanting to purchase extra legroom or comfort you may have to do that on the airline's own website. I'm not aware that you can make those extra purchases on a second party booking engine. Does anyone have any knowledge about that for Jill?

Alitalia also flys out of Columbus thru JFK with flights being one to three stops. Some of the one stop flights made that stop at JFK. I did notice that the return from Rome was listed as Alitalia/Delta. On some of our trips I have purchased tickets six months out from the trip but we just signed up for the Sep 13 Adriatic tour and when I purchased the tickets on Lufthansa there were still plenty of seats left. Though this area and time of year is probably not as popular to tour as Italy would be in September. I have also only purchased my tickets through the airline web site. We have been to Europe four times and have yet to find booking directly with the airline to be a more expensive place to buy the tickets.

My rule of thumb concerning the purchase of airfares to Italy is this: When the cost is something I can live with...they are purchased. The next step in this strategy is to stop looking back for more comparative shopping...it will only make you crazy. Generally, you can purchase 330 or 331 days out from the departure date. If you want to save that last dime...good luck. Since traveling in Italy since 1980, we've discovered you either spend time or money...or both.

When the price is to your budget...buy them.

Buon viaggio,

I think you have a lot of time before you start watching fares. I watched regularly starting about 7 months before my trip (next month) and purchased when they seemed to bottom out about 3 months out. But don't watch as often as I did, the daily fluctuations can be exasperating, sometimes they were as much as $250 (20% of the fare) and sometimes as little as $1 (really? what pricing model has fares adjusts fares by $1 six months in advance of the flight?).

Don't limit your searches to just round trip, non-stop flights. There can be huge savings if you are willing to make a stop or two. I fouind that making a stop of a few days in another European city on the return could lower the total fare by as much as 20%, the savings on airfare could cover hotel and meals for the extra days in a new city. Trip Advisor's search feature is particularly useful as you can filter flights by number of stops, total flight times, and arrival and departure times.

Also, it's convenient to use the various search sites to find the best fare, but when you're ready, buy direct from the airline. You should be able to get the same fare, and you'll probably get better service, particularly if the flights are changed before your departure. You may also have more flexibility to reserve and modify seats from the airline. And travel insurance is probably a good idea in case you have to cancel.

Thanks, everyone!
I think now I am better assured that I am not "missing something" in my searches. I have been able to view flights for this October to get a general idea of cost, so I think we will purchase sooner, rather than later, in order to obtain the seats we prefer. I always book through the airline-and I realize flight times will change many times prior to actually taking off! ;)
Now I will stop searching for a few months and uncross my eyes!!!

We are traveling this September and I purchased my Delta tickets JFK - Venice nonstop as soon as the schedule came out. We paid just a little over $1,300/pp. I checked about 4 months ago and they were close to the same price. Several weeks ago I ended up going and purchasing the Delta Preferred seating for $99/pp and changed seats of course. I am just someone who wants to have things nailed down, and then that is off my mind. I can then comfortably make my hotel and tour arrangements knowing "for sure" I have a seat and will be arriving. But...I understand I'm probably not as laid back. It's our first European trip and I just didn't want to be biting my nails over it. I think you will be fine and really not overpaying too much, if at all, by getting your seats early.

I'm happy to be going over with the extra legroom, but didn't buy it coming home. We are only 5'8" tall, so we'll see how it goes.

We started looking for flights in May for our trip in September of this year. Ended up booking on April 2. Two round trip tickets on AA from JFK to Milan for $967.00 each. So that gives you an idea how soon to start looking/booking.

Just curious, are open jaw more expensive?

I just went to find my exact flight from when I booked last October. . It's the same price plus or minus $20.

We generally find that most open jaw tickets are not more expensive ($100 + or -) And sometimes we have found open jaw tickets to be cheaper. Three quarters of all our trips are open jaw. And sometimes you can put together a three or four leg trip that is cheaper than buying different individual tickets.

I've found that flying in/out of Milan is typically the most affordable. I suspect this may have to do with the Expo this year in Milan, but who knows.

I also noticed a definitive drop in prices about 6 months out from our trip date. The drop only lasted 3-4 days before it went back up again. Thankfully I followed my gut instinct and booked when it was lower.

I live in Indianapolis and the least expensive option I could find after about 6 months watching the prices was $1,100 -from Indianapolis to Newark to Milan round trip. Flying directly to Venice always seemed to be significantly higher. And flying home from Rome added nearly $600 per person! It wasn't ideal for our itinerary, but it did save money going in/out of Milan. (I'd rather spend the money doing fun things during the trip than giving it to the airlines.) So weigh your options of flying into Milan or even Munich with another short flight or train connection to Venice. Might be worth the savings.

You can sign up for e-mail alerts with Kayak, Skyscanner and other websites that will e-mail you daily with the current airfare for your chosen locations/dates. This is helpful to catch any sudden drops in prices and saves time from doing all that searching every day.

BacktoItaly...that's good info to know about Milan and prices. BTW, I'm from Indy, too.

You have received some excellent advice from a number of travelers and I don't want to be redundant, so just a few comments. First, I have taken my wife and her now 90 year old mother on four trips to Europe and Hawaii and all went well. I booked our flights about six months out and always found good flights and prices. I use United because of their service and on time record. Used to use Delta until both of those went downhill and I switched. As for open jaw flights, I swear by them. I have found them from $50 less than a round trio to $150 more than one, but in every every case was so much better because of the time saved from going back to the arrival airport. I checked United for next May (as far out as they go now) and you can get an open jaw from Columbus to Venice through Newark and return to Columbus from Rome with one stop in either Chicago, Washington DC or Newark. They are pretty expensive right now ($1,454) but will go down later. You might compare that to Delta. All of our trips have gone through Newark and I have my first solo trip to Europe in September through Newark, into Rome and out of Paris. Regardless of the airline you choose, and most won’t let you book more than 10 months out, get the best flights for you and don’t pinch pennies on the price. You can certainly save a few hundred dollars and maybe end up with a less comfortable connection, seat or airline service. In the whole scheme of things that is not worth worrying about. It is the experience that counts. Good luck.

We're leaving this weekend from CMH and I booked last December. I spent a lot of time looking at Expedia, and the airlines websites, and eventually booked Delta, CMH - JFK - Milan. Some friends from NY went last fall and told me that Milan was their best price, around $1300 which is what I paid. The best advice I received was once you purchase your tickets, don't look at the flight price again, just look forward to your trip.

As an aside, a co-worker drove to Toronto and flew from there to save money. I would not like to have to drive back to Columbus from Toronto after that long flight.