Hi all, I am planning my first ever trip to Europe and have been searching for airfare from FCO (Rome) to SFO (San Francisco). The lowest price I seem to find that is about a 15-18 hr flight in September is about $2000 one-way. Yet, in the Rick Steves' 2011 Italy guide book that I have, it mentioned a range of $800-$1600 round trip. I realize that the fuel costs have surged as of late, but does that justify such a large price in September? Thanks in advance, AL
Posted by
La Crescenta, California, USA
361 posts
Al, As soon as things are printed they are usually out of date---especially pricing on ANYTHING. Check Kayak and the airline websites, usually on Tuesday you can see the best airfares but there really is no rhyme or reason. It is what it is. Have you tried alternate dates and/or airports for arrival and departure?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23267 posts
Why are you looking for a one way ticket? One way tend to be more expensive than RT. If you want a one way look for a rt and throw away the return half. The time of year is important also.
Posted by
Seattle, USA
990 posts
Are you really in need of a one way ticket or are you really looking for an open jaw ticket (flying to one city and returning the the US from another)? If so, if you book both ends of the flight at the same time, you won't have the flight treated as a one way flight and will save a lot. I plugged in some September dates for an open jaw ticket between SFO and Rome, returning from Paris and got several tickets in the $1300 round trip range, including taxes and surcharges. Admittedly, those aren't non-stops but one-stops ranging from 13 to 15 hours total.
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1819 posts
Since you will probably have to change planes somewhere, have you looked into using LAX instead of SFO? You might have a lot more choices for routes to Rome from there. . LAX-SFO commuter flights (Southwest, Alaska) are pretty reasonable.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco
2 posts
Thank you folks for your very helpful comments. I had read about open-jaw flights being much more affordable, but was silly enough to not look into those. After doing a search on them, the flights are indeed much cheaper. Thanks again!