We're trying to make arrangements to fly out of London to Rome, Rome-Paris-London.
The airline we saw with the best price out of London to Rome was Alitalia. I won't buy the tickets until I get some feedback from you guys though. I believe the other is Vueling from Rome to Paris.
Should I avoid these two airlines and go with another airline?
Any suggestions and/or recommendations on flying between these countries would be greatly appreciated.
Eli, if you are flying out of London-Heathrow, you won't find any of the inexpensive airlines going to Rome-FCO. The inexpensive airlines do fly to Rome-FCO out of London-Gatwick and London-Stansted. This might open up other options for you. Vueling does fly to Paris-CDG from Rome-FCO. I'll let others comment on Alitalia.
Larry, we have been trying to figure out the cost of ground travel to the other airports that low cost carriers fly out of, and also read up on their baggage restrictions. Then we were figuring out distances in Rome and if we fly into the airport nearest accommodations that saves on trains/taxi fares as well so thinking that the savings on cheaper airlines might not work out all that much when you consider that there are four of us.
So far it seems that BA and Vueling might not be as expensive as we first thought thought thanks to the info on this site. Searching through Skyscanner.
I now do absolutely NOTHING regarding my trip unless I check with you guys first. That says a lot to everyone who helps here :-)
Eli
There's been a lot of discussion about Alitalia on this board (just do a search for Alitalia). As with all airlines, you'll find a wide range of experiences. Overall, I would say that Alitalia ranks near the bottom of the industry for most people. However, I flew them Newark, NJ to Rome and back without any issue. Might be the luck of the draw.
I think the airline you end up on depends on your personal traveling style. If you are doing carry-on (now that you've convinced your daughter grin), don't care if your plane isn't exactly on time (we landed in Rome half an hour early, left Rome about 45 minutes late), and price is the most important to you, go ahead and chance it.
If you would rather pay more for an airline with a better reputation, then go with Vueling.
Alitalia will soon be under the umbrella of Air France/KLM. Lets hope that will be a step in the right direction.
I would still consider flying with Alitalia despite what you may have read here on these boards. Especially if they will be under new direction by the time you will be flying with them.
I firmly believe that "Carry-on only travel" is great advice. That will avoid any of the missing luggage stories you may have read.
The main question is, how much of a savings will Alitalia give you over Vueling? Is it a major savings or are we just talking a few bucks?
We chose British Airways in the end though it was more expensive but the time is good (7:05 a.m.) and out of Heathrow.
The following two high-quality low cost carriers (compare to JetBlue rather than Southwest) offer your requires connections (however it might require a change of planes): www.airberlin.com, www.germanwings.com. Keep in mind that you'll have to add the expense of the Stansted bus or express train to your total!
