Airfare to Italy

Holy smokes, that is expensive!!! Check out flyertalk.com. They have a bunch of different forums and you will be in the company of some very savvy travellers and airline employees. You may be able to get some solid advice there.

Steve - Since you said last week of May thru first week of June I used 5/24 - 6/7 and found a flight out of JFK to Rome on Aer Lingus for a total cost of $736 using Kayak.com

I started following airfares last January for a trip this October. We planned an open-jaw route BWI-VCE-FCO-BWI. Initial price was $1100. Watched it bounce up and down in the $1040-$1300 range until April when I really needed to confirm hotel/apartment reservations and bought tickets @$1112. Since then they have ranged from $965 (today's price) to $1400. There's no explaining today's bargain price as there are only 32 seats available going and 16 returning. My solice is that by booking in April I was able to secure fantastic lodgings, a great car rental price, and the Scavi tour at the Vatican. My gut says wait a while, keep checking Kayak and explore options such as open-jaw routes. Good luck.

Please wait, this is TOO high. Do additional research and you may be surprised. Where are you flying in and out of? Non -stops only. Some airlines may only fly direct 3 times a week from Boston. I would suggest waiting, first checking in January around MLK holiday. If still high I would recheck weekly directly with the carriers of choice for sales until 6 weeks out. You can usually see the seats available on many airlines, use their web sites directly. Having researched and travel to Europe from Chicago it has been my experience that the end of May into June 10-15th is shoulder season and I have personally gotten great airfares. May 2009 I traveled via AA ( booked on their web site) O'Hare to London return Paris - O'Hare for $450, an insane fare but I was constantly watching using the Tues-Thurs rule. I booked in March as soon as I saw the fares and booked immediately. July 8, 2011 I booked with US Air with one connection in the states into Rome back from Venice for $1250 traveling July 27-August 3, 2011 (Wednesdays). September 2010 ( Air France) booked Ohare - Paris - Barcelona -Amsterdam - Ohare for November 2010 travel for $804. It seems that Air France this winter has the best fares from Chicago. Some years its Frankfort.
I use expedia for research then go to the airlines web sites for following weekly "sales" then book. You can also sign up for e-mail alerts from the airlines you have identified Boston - Italy.

Thank you all very much for your replies. This puts me at ease. What a supportive group this community is.

Hi Steve, I'm planning on going to Europe May 28 to June 7 and found a great fare on Aer Lingus $659 JFK-LHR-FCO-JFK. I live in Miami but it's still cheaper to get that fare and a budget flight into NYC. I have been tracking fares since february and I knew it was a good deal. Maybe going to NYC could be a good option for you as well.
Good luck!

Steve, we go to Europe every year around the same time frame. We usually do not find our best price until four to twelve weeks prior to our trip; BUT we use Kayak, Orbitz, etc., and start searching at least 6 months prior. We let them notify us of price drops, and book directly with the airline, when we think that we have found the best deal.

South Portland Steve - Nerlande has a good idea with regard to flights. I live in St. Louis and since TWA went under, whose hub was here, it's a pain to fly in and out of here. I look at flight prices out of NYC and other East Coast cities to Europe, and then look at flights from STL to the East Coast. It's ended up being either about the same price or cheaper to do it this way.