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NWA/KLM OJ from SEA to Venice; Rome to SEA Airfare Advice

Posted by (Port Orchard, WA, USA) on

I have a question about airfares using sites such as Kayak.com. Europebyair.com & other consolidators.

Hubby & I would like to fly from Seattle to Venice on Xmas Day 2007. And then fly home from Rome on Jan. 11th.

I have found the itinerary & airline we would like to fly using Europebyair.com:
NWA/KLM departs Seattle at 12:50pm and arrives in Venice at 11:20am; then departs Rome at 9:15am and arrives in Seattle at 2:30pm.

The fare is great on Europebyair (just under $1000 per person). But when I go to purchase the ticket I get an error, "KL 6033..." which is a reference to one of the return flights. I called Customer Service and they told me that the airline was blocking the sale... there was nothing they could do about it.

Kayak.com says that there are many seats available for the flights that I want (I searched on individual flights).

My question: Do you think that more seats will go on sale for the good price on Europebyair.com? Should I wait & see? Or should I just try to book something?

What is your best advice?

Thank you!!

Posted by
17417 posts

I suggest you go to the NWA/KLM booking site and see how it prices out there. And make sure that price includes all taxes and surcharges---sometimes they don't show until the last screen.

I would also check with British Air (actually I did; the price for your route on those days is $1022 per person, including all taxes and fuel surcharge.) We like this flight because it leaves in the evening; better for getting some sleep. The only hitch is that it requires you to transfer from Heathrow to Gatwick for the Venice flight, but there is a shuttle bus and we had no difficlties doing this. The return trip has no transfer.

As I understand it, sites like Kayak are not truly "consolidators"; they are booking engines that help yo find the best fare. Once I've found it, I prefer to book directly with the airline.

Posted by
359 posts

My wife and I are looking at the same itinerary (SEA-Venice and Rome-SEA) for November 9 - 24th. The airlines I've been focusing on are Air France, which opens a direct flight to Paris on June 11th, British Airways, which we flew direct to Heathrow in March of '05, and possibly the NWA/KLM flight, which flies direct to Amsterdam. The only downside of the NWA flight is that the layover in Amsterdam is 7 hours.

If you do consider Air France, watch the layovers! They list some with even less than an hour between flights. You'll want the ones with around 3-4 hours, which would mean leaving Rome at 7:20AM.

With BA, I'd use an airline like BMI (which I've flown between Paris and London) or Ryanair. But I'd prefer to get it all booked through one airline if possible, in case there are any delays or problems.

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