Flying into/out of Rome

It is hard to say. Each airport is different and depends on who is flying there and the over all demand. Rome is popular. I do think Rome is more expensive but have never compared prices.

To add; Lufthansa has a main (the main?) hub in Frankfurt, and DC (Dulles) is one of their airports in the US, basically the best roundtrip option. Rome does have service by Lufthansa, but not a main airport, and usually via a partner. Add to that Rome is a bit farther, and even non-stop is priced at two segments it seems. So if you price only on Lufthansa, the difference will be significant. However, there may be airlines that offer better deals open jaws for that route than Lufthansa but open jaw into Frankfurt and out of Rome should be cheaper than roundtrip to Rome.

It is not your imagination ... (it definitely depends)

Two years ago, I flew from Dulles to Rome on United (direct flight) for a reasonable price.

Last year, it was significantly cheaper for me to fly into London, stay a couple of days there, and then fly on a separate ticket to Italy.

Sometimes you need to be a little creative. Unless things have changed, United is the only airline with a direct flight from Dulles to Rome.

Well, so far I have found this (for the same dates):

Iberia $1674.00
United $2242.00
Lufthansa $2369.00

Maybe I will try round trip to Frankfurt and a low cost to Rome and back.....just seems alot of flying just to go to Rome, but SWMBO wants to go to Rome.

What time of year are you going? Those prices seem very high.

You might try doing your search on sidestep.com or kayak.com. It will give you some idea of what the options are and the price range.

Flying out April 22, returning May 4.

I forgot to note that these fares are for two adults.

Yes Rome is pricey from US and always has been. You could try a consolidator (ie.cheaptickets) or try Aer Lingus w/ great fares to Dublin then Ryanair to Rome or nearby.

It is more expensive, in no small part due to competition. Several airlines fly nonstop to Frankurt from the US, only a few to Rome.

FROM/TO Rome - There are many search engines out there… We have many friends visiting so I’m always looking for good fares for them. Living here, it’s harder to use sites such as Farecast… but they are great when you are coming roundtrip from the States… Here are a few of the international travels sites I’ve used, all with no problems. Prices are all across the board, but in the order of usage, I look through these:

Farecast - http://farecast.live.com/

Kayak - http://www.kayak.com/

Mobissmo - http://www.mobissimo.com/search_airfare.php

Airfare.com - http://www.airfare.com/

Lessno - http://www.lessno.com/default.aspx

Vayama - http://www.vayama.com/

ITA Software - http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch
• You have to create an account here, and it’s not a booking site… but it gives GREAT info on flight and many options on how to search for flights

Sidestep - http://www.sidestep.com/

Booking Buddy - http://www.bookingbuddy.com/
• Indirect search engine – gives you options for ELEVEN separate search engines

Fly Europe - http://www.1800flyeurope.com/

Travelocity Dream maps - dps1.travelocity.com/dreamMap.ctl…

Skyscanner - http://www.skyscanner.net/

Dohop - http://www.dohop.com/

And there are COUNTLESS sites for less cost travel in Europe - including airline sites for Ryanair and Easyjet! Good hunting!

Ciao,
Ron

The major hubs in Europe are London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. That means a lot of airlines offer flights to those directions and with that kind of competition the prices are somewhat lower compared to other destinations in Europe.

Nevertheless, the difference shouldn't be as big as you've found it so far. Keep on looking at some of the discounters mentioned on this board (sorry, I'm flying from Canada and can't help with more concrete tips).

I do think it would be cheaper to fly into Frankfurt and then on to Rome. I don't know what kind of prices you are getting from Virginia to FF, but I was just recently checking flights to Rome from FF and was coming up with around 150 € round trip. There is of course Hahn airport and using Ryan Air. I have done this and paid 35 € round trip total, but there is the 12 € cost to take the bus to Hahn each way. But still, 59 € cant be beat. I know others that have flown for even less than that to Rome.

Thanks everyone. I know it's early, so I will just keep on checking. I did find farecast interesting!

Yes, Rome is more expensive but you can save some money by making it only one end of an open-jaw trip. It's a longer trip but I'm sure the cost also reflects what Rome charges the airlines to use their airports. It's best to just try as many options as you can until you find something at a decent price.

Steve,

I've also found flights to Rome more expensive, but it's understandable. Frankfurt is a major hub (I believe the busiest airport in Europe?), so has more flights and more competition on the routes. It's also somewhat closer to North America, so the costs are lower than flying to Rome (fuel, etc.)

You may be able to find some "deals" using Air Canada or Air Transat from Toronto, but not sure if that would be an option for you? The exchange on the US$ is reasonably good at the moment.

Good luck!

Yes, it is. I'm doing something similar next spring. But, I have a solution. It's a bit of a gamble, as if you miss your flight you're SOL, but you can book round trip to Frankfurt, and then book a one way to Rome. There's a bunch of local airlines that fly in Europe, that are pretty cheap. Most of the discount airfare searchers such as Orbitz will find fares for you. There's also some low-cost carriers that aren't indexed by the major sites, like ryanair. You have to go to their website to book. I think they fly out of a different airport though.

Just know, if your flight is late, and you miss that flight from FRA to FCO, the airline has no obligation to put you on another flight as they do when it's all on one itinerary. So, make sure you leave a lot of time in between flights. Personally, I'd say about five hours at the least, if it's out of the same airport, and not a different one nearby. Otherwise, add more time for travel between airports.

You might want to possibly try a Continental flight out of Newark EWR nonstop to Rome - I took this flight a few months ago and it wasn't too pricey - and then your long international leg isn't split up, but rather a short hop from DC to NY.

I had an open jaw from EWR-FCO and then CDG-EWR for $1200 peak, so you may want to give the US transfer a try...

Thanks, Brian. I will check into this. Thanks to everyone else, too!