Flying from Charlotte NC to Venice Italy - where to transfer?

Some friends have told us it is better to transfer in the US vs Europe...

Our preference is to try to connect in Europe. It thing go badly and you miss the connection, at least you are a lot closer to your desitnation. Then you will have more choices for trains, regional planes, busses. rental car, and such. Coming back we try to have a connection in the U.S. for the same reason.

Your "friends" are wrong, aren't they always? Fly direct to Europe and transfer. Once you are in Europe, you're there and you have options. If you are stuck on this side of the Atlantic, there is nothing you can do but wait another day.

Munich is a nice airport. Philly maybe not so much - and that is my home airport. Besides, if you land in Munich, you could always consider the train - time permitting - to Venice which is a scenic ride.

The Lufthansa terminal in Munich has been specifically designed to make transfers quick and efficient. As such they have a MCT of only 30 minutes, and this is probably the best airport in Europe to connect in.

Or we can fly to Munich on AA and then Lufthansa from Munich to Venice at less than half the cost of the stop in Venice.

Since AA and Lufthansa are not partners, this sounds like you would be buying two separate tickets. Is that the case? If these are separate tickets, I would suggest planning a night or two in Munich before you continue on to Venice before you continue in case your flight is delayed or changed. If these are two tickets and your inbound flight on AA is delayed and you miss the Lufthansa flight, you would need to buy a new ticket to Venice.

Are you sure the flight to Munich is on AA? It looks like there is a non-stop flight from Charlotte to Munich on Lufthansa. Could you book the entire trip through Lufthansa? That would be safest.

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The arguments for the “best” city to transfer. Why? What does “safest” mean? I look for fare and total flight time. I’ve had connections that failed but the airline or tkt broker (ie Expedia….etc) takes care of that.

Stick to price and flight time rather than the esoteric diversions seen here.

Could you book the entire trip through Lufthansa? That would be safest.

Yes, Lufthansa has nonstop service CLT>MUC in September. LH also has a flight later in the day from MUC>VCE, so you have back-up if the inbound flight is severely delayed.

Thanks for the replies - all helpful! Some clarification - American Airlines does fly direct from Charlotte to Munich. We would use American as we have both status and lots of miles there. Also, Lufthansa has 5 flights daily from Munich to Venice - we could easily make the second one and we'd have many options if we're delayed. These would be two separate tickets... and would both be round-trip tickets, so we'd also transfer in Munich on the way home.

The flights should be on one ticket, otherwise, if you miss the second flight, you’ll have to pay for a new ticket. If it’s all on one ticket, the airline is responsible for the cost of getting you to your destination.

Although you can find Lufthansa complaints here (Search box top center), I have had good results with two-segment flights on Lufthansa Code Shares as well as labelled United (a partner ... ) originations on the East Coast US.

You didn't bring up the issue of cost (which is very important to most air travelers), but many of my second segments seem to have cost between $0 and $100, tending to the lower end. But I find it convenient not to go through security twice. OTOH, I would not want to go back to an airport after a one-night layover if that were to be offered.

It is an opinion, not a "fact", but I think it is ridiculous to suggest that you are better off transferring in the U.S. There do seem to be more strikes in Europe, but there are more non-labor service disruptions in the US, it seems to me.

Separate tickets are a really bad idea unless the cost savings are massive. Each individual traveler has to decide where the trade-off point is, in terms of dollars saved versus increased risk. If you miss the second flight because of delay/cancellation/rescheduling of the first, the second round-trip ticket will be a total loss, because the return leg on the second airline will be cancelled automatically. Flight rescheduling seems to be very common these days.

I did this trip from Charlotte NC in 2019. I flew into Munich where I stayed one night and then took the train to Venice. I had been to Munich before and love it so enjoyed visiting it for a short time yet again.
The train ride was absolutely stunning. The Man in Seat 61 has video & photos of it so you can see for yourself. Then you get to Venice & the anticipation builds up inside & you arrive and go through the doors that open to the Grand Canal. I'm not eloquent but it's one of the best memories I've had.
I would do it again in a heartbeat over flying.

I can understand wanting to take advantage of the savings offered by using your AA miles to fly direct to Munich. But combining that flight with RT tickets on Lufthansa is risky, especially of the connection is the same day in both directions.

One risk was pointed out by acraven above: if your AA flight to Munich is late and you miss the Lufthansa flight to Venice, you not only lose that one (and have to buy a new ticket) but the return flight from Venice to Munich will be canceled. So you have to buy a new on for that leg as well.

A greater risk is if the Lufthansa flight back to Munich from Venice is late (or the schedule changes). You really do not want to risk missing the homeward flight on AA. That would be really expensive to replace.

One way to eliminate both risks is to overnight in Munich, especially on the return, but that cuts into the time you have for Italy.

The arguments for the “best” city to transfer. Why? What does “safest” mean?

Calvados, by ”safest”, I meant a single ticket with both legs on Lufthansa would be less risky than two separate tickets. You would not have the risk of buying a new ticket if the first flight was delayed.

Again - feedback here is greatly appreciated. I can book this entire trip from CLT - VCE on Lufthansa and minimize issues related to flight delays and missed connections. However, we can save a significant amount of money by flying American CLT to MUC, and then Lufthansa from MUC - VCE. On the outbound trip, we'd land in MUC at 7:00am local time. Lufthansa has 4 flights to VCE / day that we could choose from. Also the flight from MUC - VCE is relatively inexpensive. If we missed the MUC-VCE flight and needed to purchase a new flight we'd still be way ahead. We do think that staying over in Munich the night before the return trip to CLT is a great idea and minimizes the risk of losing the trans-Atlantic return flight.

Also the flight from MUC - VCE is relatively inexpensive. If we missed the MUC-VCE flight and needed to purchase a new flight we'd still be way ahead.

Your new plan may be worth the risk to you, but I’d suggest you check one more thing. You say the MUC - VCE flight is inexpensive; however, you are pricing this 10 months out. It would be more expensive to buy a ticket on the day of departure. To get an idea, check the price of the same flight departing today or tomorrow or check the price of a walk-up train fare (e.g., if flights were sold out and you needed a back-up).

I have bought separate tickets to save money, but I have always added at least an overnight (often a couple of nights) between flights to minimize the risk of missing my onward flight.

Larry, it's not clear whether you have priced "Multi-City" ("open-jaw") flights so that you don't have to return to Munich (not part of your touring anyway?) to fly home. (I know flying to Charlotte isn't the same as my flying to NYC/EWR.) It might be fair to say that a hotel-airport trip is easier in downtown Rome or Milan than in Venice. I don't use AA much, but in the last ten years, Multi-City itineraries do not cost extra any more.

We also can't know your travel style. Does changing flights at 4 in the morning spoil your limited sleep options? Any chance of a dreary "Bus-Gate?" (I'm surprised a European airport is active at that hour.) Are you counting on eating a meal on the first flight, or just hoping to go right to sleep? I personally would prefer to arrive at 11:30 or later, in the hope of maybe getting into our room, instead of just dropping off the bags.

Let me clarify what I am looking at... As a retired frequent business traveler, I have accumulated enough miles on American to fly my wife and I R/T CLT-MUC in business class using miles. If I book the entire trip on AA (CLT-VCE), I do not have enough miles for the both of us and this prices out at $9,500. I could also book the entire trip on Lufthansa (CLT-MUC-VCE) in business class for about $5,000. The flights from MUC-VCE are around 100 euros if purchased today. (and as Laura advised, if I needed to purchase that ticket today, it would be over 400 euros, so that is certainly a consideration).

The AA CLT-MUC flight arrives at 7:00 am local time, and there are three flights to VCE at 11:30, 18:15, and 19:45. We could book the 11:30am flight and hope all goes well, or book the 18:15 flight and spend the day in the MUC airport... or exit, spend the day in MUC and return the next day to travel to VCE. We would certainly do this on the return. We did look at train options MUC-VCE and that may be an option as well. Net - for us the benefit of an 8+ hour flight in business class at virtually 0 cost far outweighs the possible risk of needing to re-book the MUC-VCE flights. What am I missing?

The train is certainly an option even though it's not as quick as a plane. Another possibility, and forgive me if I have misunderstood the situation, is this. Book the Charlotte Munich round trip with the AA miles simply because it will cost next to nothing. Seperately book a round trip ticket from Munich to Venice on a low cost regional airline. This might have been considered. If so, forgive the repetition.

TC - that is the plan...

TC, that is what they are talking about, although the Munich to Venice nested flights would be on Lufthansa rather than a low-cost carrier. They probably should take a look at EasyJet to compare.

This is exactly what we do for our travels to Italy or elsewhere in Europe. We fly British Airways roundtrip to London in business class with our Avios (BA miles). I book this when the award seats are released, 355 days in advance. Often we don’t know exactly where in Italy we are going, so I book the nested flight later, when the trip is planned. I book something with a 4-hour layover on the way to Italy, and an overnight in London on the way back (so there is little or no chance of missing our long-haul flight). But one difference—-I book the nested flights as separate one-way flights (BA does not charge extra for that). This way, if we should happen to miss the outbound flight we still have the return intact. As we pointed out above, with a roundtrip booking the second flight will be automatically canceled if they miss the first one. Note that we carry on our bags so we can stay airside at Heathrow. I would never do this even with a 4-hour layover with checked bags.

So far we have never missed the flight from Heathrow to wherever, even when our flight from Seattle was an hour or more late. But when our flight has arrived as scheduled, those 4 hours of sitting in the airport are annoying.

Here is an alternative that I would consider, using a train but breaking up the long journey with an overnight in a scenic spot on the way. So instead of sitting in the airport and waiting for that 11:30 flight, you take the S-Bahn to the train station and catch the IC train heading through the Brenner Pass to Verona. You catch it at 9:34 at the Hauptbahnhof, or 9:42 at the Munich Ost station. But instead of riding all the way to Verona for the transfer to the train to Venice (arriving there at 16:50), you leave the train in Bressanone at 12:55. This is a nice little city with a definite Tyrolian flavor and a lovely and lively Oldtown pedestrian zone. You have the afternoon to explore the town and walk off the shaky legs from the flight, and the daylight will help with jet lag recovery. Enjoy a nice meal at an outdoor table and retire to a pine-paneled hotel room with comfy beds and duvets.

Next morning you continue the journey, leaving Bressanone at 10:56 and arriving at Venezia Santa Lucia at 14:42, by which time you can check in to your hotel or apartment.

One advantage of this plan is you won’t have to deal with getting into Venice from the airport, which is either expensive (water taxi) or time-consuming (bus plus vaporetto). Neither is fun after a long flight from the US. And arriving in Venice by train is always a treat for me—you walk out of the station and there is the Grand Canal right in front of you. I always stop at the top of the stairs and take in the scene, so happy to be there.

They probably should take a look at EasyJet to compare.

EasyJet does not fly MUC>VCE.

Unless I've misunderstood, you are making this way harder than it needs to be.

https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/munich-to-venice-by-eurocity-train.htm

I have accumulated enough miles on American to fly my wife and I R/T CLT-MUC in business class using miles

Larry, given that, I think your plan makes sense. Just know what your backup options areif your first flight is delayed.

“ Unless I've misunderstood, you are making this way harder than it needs to be.”

Yes, there is a direct train to Venice, leaving at 11:33. But they would have to wait 4 hours for that, and would not reach Venice until 18:25, making for a long day (nearly 12 hours) of sitting in the train station and the train, right after the long overnight flight from the US.

So stay overnight. Get some good food & a good night sleep. I did it & it was great.

The train I recommended uses that same route through the Brenner Pass. Same tracks, same scenery, same EC type train.

I just suggested an overnight in Bressanone instead of staying overnight in Munich. Since they are arriving in Munich at 7 am they may as well start toward Venice and spend the night in a lovely little Tyrolian town right on the way.

It stops 16 times and takes less than 7 hours if it is running on schedule.

I have taken that train and would not again. It’s rated EC but in practice it’s a crappy-ish regional train that stops like 40 times.

Apart from the number of stops being heavily over-stated as stated by Sam, by the time the OP is travelling, the rolling stock is scheduled to have been replaced by brand new OBB railjet cars.

If the OP bought a flexible ticket he could also travel on the earlier 9.30am train if the flight was on time- 1 change at Verona, arrive Venice at 1650- only 1 more stop.

It is also possible to buy tickets on the day, until the moment of departure.

There are additional one change trains at 1217, 1334 and 1534. (and an earlier through train, which the OP couldn't catch, at 0728), all of which can be booked on the day for around 120 to 130 Euro.

So even if the OP opted to fly, but then missed the 1130 flight he could then take the train for way less than the cost of a replacement flight, and not be sat around the airport all day.

Transfer in Europe. Lufthansa is nice. Go with the Munich option. At least I would. Another thought: have you looked at flights from RDU?

Tom_MN your experience was the complete opposite of mine in May 2019. It was a relaxing and beautiful ride. Completely stress free.