Flying to Italy - Fall 2023

Not harebrained - looks like an intelligent option. Flight’s not for 6 months, so they’ve got time to figure out how to fix any current issues in Frankfurt. And at the moment, you’ve got just over 2 hours to make your flight connection. That’s not too long, and not so short that you’ll have to sprint to your gate at a full run.

We flew home from Bologna last October (connecting in London), and got there more than 3 hours before departure. Good thing. One security area suddenly shut down, and everybody was directed to a single queue - which wound back and forth on itself. Italians near us yelled at other Italians who were trying to cut in line - one or two every five minutes. It took over 90 minutes to get to the open Security. Barely-organized chaos. Still, allow enough time, and enjoy your savings!

If you do cut in line, just shrug your shoulders, like most of the line-cutters did last year. Most ignored the shouters, and didn’t get back out of line. Only in Italy, maybe.

Of the two European hubs you mention, it is not Frankfurt that has become infamous for queues and chaos. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/amsterdam-schiphol-airport-chaos/index.html

You might also look at return flights from Milan or Venice, larger airports that might offer better connections.

If your flights there are on two separate tickets, 2 hours may not be enough time to make your connection (assuming your flight is on time). You will need to go through immigration, collect any checked bags, possibly change terminals, recheck any bags, go through security, and get to your gate. If you don’t make it, you need to buy a new ticket on the next available flight. The airline has no obligation to rebook you if you miss the second flight.

I'd also be concerned about a schedule change on the transatlantic flight that could make the connection impossible even if the first flight arrived on time. I'd only do this if I was willing to spend a night at the connection point. Think of it as an opportunity to get over most of the jetlag.

With the overnight stay, you should have options for an onward flight to Turin, eliminating a separate Linate-Turin leg.

I failed to mention that we do carry-on only. That should work in our favor.

Schiphol and Frankfurt were mentioned in the same breath when it came to dealing with the travel surge in the article I read .

I've sliced and diced this trip so many ways it's starting to feel like a Ronco commercial. The one thing I need to do is see how much flying home on something other than Business will impact the price.

I'd be leery about a two-hour layover on the same airline with the same ticket. Last year, the times and routings of my flight to/from Italy changed all the time. At one point, I had no return flight after flying from Rome to Philadelphia and had to reroute the whole trip. I think things have settled down a bit now but it's something you would no control over and no recourse for.

I haven't found a deal for business that I can afford but I had good luck with getting extended legroom seats. That made a big difference to us.

We flew business DTW-ZUR last Sept. worth every penny to be able to stretch out and get some zzz’s. Compromised with premium comfort flying back as it was a daytime flight. (Did seem like a let down after business tho lol). You might try one way there on delta and return one way other airlines

I'm surprised the round trip airfares to Turin are so well priced--$800's for economy. But those are two stop flights.
The one stop flight is $900, and the best airline to and from Turin is Delta.

Going directly into Turin and home from Bologna is slightly more expensive with connections in either Rome or DeGaulle--just under $1K.

If you chose to go round trip into Milan Malpensa in October, the airfares are even cheaper. @ mid $500's on 3 days connecting thru Iceland. Delta's more like $784 for one stop in CDG or JFK mostly.

That sure beats the $1500 normal airfares of the Summer, 2023.

My last two international flights were significantly delayed - one 24 hours and our most recent was six hours. If this happened to you, you'd lose the second airline ticket, since the flights aren't connected. Since COVID, airlines seem to have more frequent flight changes and cancelations, and this doesn't take in account weather issues. You can use Flight Aware to check the dependability of your proposed flights, but I think it's high risk.

we just connected (yesterday) through FRA. We flew SEA-FRA-FCO. We had an hour 30 connection and it all went smoothly. We had about 30 minutes at the gate area. The border control line looked pretty long but it moved along well. 6-8 officers checking passports. We had to take a shuttle bus & that was probably the longest amount of time. The bus was packed. They were waiting until the bus was very full then going to the next terminal.

Good luck

*just one couple's experience

Thanks to all who responded. I appreciate your input!