BrentA100

I'm having trouble finding a good price and good times on my April trip from Seattle to Venice, and then returning from Rome.

The best flight I have found is with a single transfer each way in Amsterdam:

SEATTLE-VENICE
KLM 6034 04/07/06 (12:55 P - 07:40 A) SEATTLE [SEA] AMSTERDAM [AMS] COACH Flight Length 13:25
Operated by Northwest Airlines
KLM 1653 04/08/06 (09:25 A - 11:20 A) AMSTERDAM [AMS] VENICE [VCE] COACH Lay Over 1:45

ROME-SEATTLE
KLM 3400 04/22/06 (08:30 A - 12:00 P) ROME [FCO] AMSTERDAM [AMS] COACH Flight Length 14:50
Operated by Alitalia
KLM 6033 04/22/06 (01:05 P - 02:20 P) AMSTERDAM [AMS] SEATTLE [SEA] COACH Lay Over 1:05
Operated by Northwest Airlines

I found this at OneTravel.Com last night for $1032/person. Today it is $1152/person. I called a travel agent and she said that she couldn't get me the same itinerary, since the flight from Rome to Amsterdam (Alitalia 108) is an illegal flight for this trip. She called Northwest/KLM to confirm this. She could get me out of Rome at 6:15AM but not at 8:30. So my questions are:

1) Is the flight package offered by OneTravel likely to be cancelled, or can OneTravel somehow put together flight groups that regular travel agents can't? Orbitz brings up this same return combination but if I select it, I can't get the same arrival combination.

2) How much of a pain is it going to be to get to the Rome airport by 4:30 or so. Haven't quite decided where in Rome we will stay yet.

Thanks for any tips you may have!
Cheers
Brent

LoveItaly

Hi Brent, have you gone to www.nwa.com and checked out their flights from Seattle to Venice and back. That is what I would do.

BrentA100

Yes...I did that already. NWA's online fares for this itinerary were in the $1500-1700/person range.

WillTravel

What dates are you looking at? Consolidators like OneTravel and Orbitz can do things the airlines can't. Anecdotally, though, if there are any connection problems on a consolidator ticket with different airlines, people seem to report problems getting them solved.
Did you try http://www.1800flyeurope.com ?

BrentA100

Yes...I did go to 1800flyeurope.com but couldn't see how to put together an open jaw flight. Do I need to call in order to do an open jaw flight?

Cheers
Brent

BrentA100

Oops...dates are leave April 7, return April 22.

WillTravel

It's easy to set up an open-jaw from the opening page of 1800flyeurope.com . Just choose your departure and arrival airports in each case. If you do this for your dates, you end up with several pages of sold-out fares, before getting to an $$1,112 fare ($863 before tax) that is clearly British Airways, with stops in Heathrow both ways.

LoveItaly

Brent, I have heard that flights to Europe from Seattle and Portland are real expensive. My family in Portland (OR) flew Portland to SFO and than flew to Europe. I fly from SFO via Amsterdam on KLM and than from Amsterdam to Venice on the KLM CityHopper and the same coming home. It might be worthwhile to check into this, just a thought. KLM flights are made via NW. And know that KLM has flights from Rome to SFO via Amsterdam as my daughter and SIL took this flight summer of 2005. Just a thought. Best wishes.

Intrepid1

You need to remember that consolidators such as OneTravel usually issue you an e-ticket which is, technically, programed into (usually) the originating airline's computer, even when you are using two different airlines to travel as we recently did for our trip to Honolulu.

If the airline computer accepts the input then technically the routing and segments are valid.

I have no idea what your TA meant by saying that a particular segment wasn't "valid." Search engines such as Orbitz usually only show flight segments which have available tickets (to that search engine)to sell so who knows?

Are you reluctant to book because your TA couldn't get you the exact same itinerary? The itinerary is obviously valid if you were able to find it using the NWA site but they obviously aren't "discounting" it (but at the same time probably allowing the consolidator to do so).

BrentA100

Thanks Will. I don't know how I missed the fact that you could specify the open jaw destinations right on the main page. I guess I got too used to looking for the "Multiple Destinations" link.

I've evaluated the British Air one already and decided that the arrival in Venice is a bit later than I'm looking for, plus there is a long layover in London and the need to transfer airports for the connecting flight. Too bad, as I have enjoyed flying British Air in the past. On the upside, I have a new contender:

Going:
Leaves Seattle 11:15am
Arrives Venice (next day) 1:35pm
Drawback...2 transfers

Return:
Leave Rome 12:05pm
Arrive Seattle 4:50pm

Those times are feeling pretty good, though the fare is still expensive...$1,115/person (including taxes and fees).

BrentA100

"Are you reluctant to book because your TA couldn't get you the exact same itinerary?"

A little...I think she just meant it wasn't available/valid as part of a discounted fare. She did say she could book it, but it would be much more expensive. NWA's price for that intinerary is $1996.83/person. Yikes!

ira

Hi Brent,

I think that a 65 min layover at Schipol is fine, expecially since you are on KLM all the way.

Take it before the price goes up again.

rkkwan

Right now, you can book a NW/KL/AZ itinerary on Orbitz for $1,042. Outbound, it's NW to AMS, KL to MXP, then AZ to VCE. Inbound, just one stop in AMS on KL, then NW.

Otherwise, it's a lengthy 12-hour wait at AMS, or $1,800ish fare. To me, that indicates the cheap fare classes on the earlier AMS-VCE are already gone - so either pay more or later flight. That's the problem, not between SEA-AMS.

Since it's only Jan, and you're not going till April, I'll wait a little. Fares are unlikely to go up much further, but that AMS-VCE flight may have cheaper fare class available again. I'll check <b>DAILY</b> on nwa.com and Orbitz.

Or just book the SEA-AMS-MXP-VCE connection.

Gardyloo

Or take NW or AA to Gatwick and easyJet from LGW to VCE, back from CIA (Rome Ciampino) to LGW before the return. SEA-LGW round trips are going for around $750; the easyJet legs would probably be around &pound;50 each way, so probably ca. US$950 all in. You might have to overnight at LGW coming or going; that's what Priceline was invented for.

Note that Friday eastbound and/or Sunday westbound flights will probably carry a premium price. Sometimes it's as much as $200 over weekdays.

Barb

Brent:

I fly out of Seattle every year to Italy. I usually book through www.travelteam.com (Tracy). She is usually able to get me some awesome fares. The cut-off for really cheap fares is usually March 31st, but you might give it a try. I fly Delta because I have airmiles with Delta. Seattle to NY or Cinn. and then straight to Rome. This past fall I flew BA out of Vancouver with a 5 hr. layover at Heathrow and then on to Rome. Loved BA! We left in the evening out of Van. and then arrived in Rome about 9:30 pm. the next day. With Delta, you arrive in the a.m. Also with Delta, I usually depart Rome around 8:30 a.m. and arriving into Seattle in the early evening. Good luck, hope you find a good fare.

BrentA100

I ended up going with:

GOING:
11:15AM-11:59AM Seattle To Portland (United Express)
1:15-8:25AM Portand to Frankfurt (United operated by Lufthansa)
12:20-1:35AM Frankfurt To Venice (United operated by Lufthansa)

RETURNING:
12:06PM-2:45PM Rome to Copenhagen (Scandinavian Air)
3:50PM-4:50PM Copenhagen to Seattle (Scandinavian Air)

This fare was $1115/person including taxes/fees which is nothing to be happy about, but I wanted to lock something in rather than risk getting a worse itinerary later and paying more money besides. Although I'm not crazy about two plane changes going over, the nice thing is that the start and end times of each leg are really perfect. And the return flight will be really nice. It's cool we can fly Copenhagen to Seattle in just an hour. ;-)

BTW, I've never flown Lufthansa or Scandinavian Air before. Are they nice?

LoveItaly

Hi Brent, I am glad you got the flight worked out. And even though you have two stops on the way over Portland is a nice airport so that shouldn't be a hassle. Have fun planning your trip!!
P.S. Haven't flown either airline but have known people that have, no one has ever complained. And that hour flight home is fantastic, LOL.

rkkwan

Both PDX-FRA and CPH-SEA will be on A340-300s. SAS' are brand-new planes with personal video screens in each seat, while on LH, you'll have to look at a communal screen.

Make sure you sign up on UA's Mileage Plus program if you haven't. These flights will earn you plenty of miles.

PrincessMary

Barb,
How is the Delta Seattle-JFK-Rome flight? I have aisle seats both ways; worried about small seats; is JFK a hassle? Any tips? Thanks

zozozo

I fly out of Seattle also. SAS is only airline I have used for last 6 years to europe. CPH is not as crowded as other airports so makes a nice layover when flying rome to cph and customs line wait is short when transfering to Seattle flight terminal area. UA and Lufthansa and SAS all part of star alliance. Two companions last year got mileage on united for SAS flights. Have fun on that (1) hour flight.