Matt

My friend wants to fly from Chicago to Rome in May.

elaine

When I was searching for a New York to Rome flight last summer I found varying fares on at orbitz and expedia. The cheapness varied between the two almost daily.<BR>I will say that the lowest fare I finally got was through a travel agent. Normally I don't use an agent, but I had a couple of extra kinks in my travel plans and she was very helpful.<BR>I booked my own hotels and other arrangements though.

Wayne

Honestly, I don't believe there is a "best" website. If you are aware of several of them, you should try them all. Also try all the airlines that normally service the route your friend wants to follow. And remember that many times you can save simply by making more connections--which is a bit more inconvenient, but that's why it's cheaper. Not only are there the normally expected sites like Orbitz.com and Priceline.com, but even Fodors, Frommers, and others will sometimes hook up with airlines for some good deals. I'm not sure if Hotwire.com is now providing overseas discount tickets, but if they are, they would also be worth checking.

jayvee

Try saveontravel.com 1-800777-4914

Steve Mueller

<BR>We recently used Hotwire (www.hotwire.com) and got two roundtrip tickets from Denver to Frankfurt for $532 apiece on US Airways. The purchase price from US Airways was just over $800 apiece.<BR><BR>The caveat with Hotwire is that you don't know the airline, exact times, or connection cities until after you purchase the ticket. Admittedly, this is a bit of a gamble, but the price is hard to beat.

Capo

When I was searching for a good open-jaws fare recently, Orbitz seemed to consistently come up with the lowest fares (although I did not try Priceline.) Hotwire also seemed to have very good fares but, as Steve noted, there's a caveat. <BR><BR>But, interestingly, I found the lowest fare of all for the flights I wanted on Northwest's website and then, for some reason, the fare was even a few dollars less than that on the website via Northwest on the phone. <BR><BR>

jason

By frequently checking websites such as nwa.com I found a very low fare (&lt; $500 for summer travel) a few weeks ago from LAX to Europe. Far lower than on Orbitz, etc. But the low fare on nwa disappeared after about 12 hours!

a--z

I get newsletter from Smarter Living website (www.smarterliving.com) that keeps abreast of airfare sales for variety of airlines.<BR><BR>I compare airfare prices to the stock market. Ticket prices change hourly, often minute-to-minute. Right now I checked on Air France. Price for Chicago to Rome (w/stop in Paris) is $667.90 (flying on Tues, May-14 & returning Thurs, May-23).

Lili6363

I have been scanning the web since Jan. for tickets to Milan, Zurich or Rome from Houston. I got tickets on Priceline for $600.00 to Zurich on a great airline (Delta) and with an excellent schedule. We bought from a bucket shop last time and had to fly through Philadelphia and Pittsburg with LONG layovers. Not worth the price savings, especially for the long flight home. Good luck!

Dan

I find that orbitz often has the best prices when the airlines have sales going. In tougher times, flights.com usually has something decent listed under "major european carrier", who you can usually figure out. Often Lufthansa.<BR>I've never seen Yahoo Travelocity with a cheap fare that Orbitz and flights.com didn't have. I bought two tickets to Chicago-Geneva for Jun 15-22 on orbitz and paid $330 +tax. Flights.com showed the fare but had no seats available. Travelocity's cheapest fare was $810.

michele

Matt,<BR>I'd look at all or most of the above suggestions. Get a few good rates and then ask a travel agent. I thought I had a great online price to Naples (from London), asked my agent, and he got a much better one ( better time, too). Do your research and then check your results.<BR><BR>M.

Scarlett

Lili6363: Just had to reply to your post - you say Delta is a great airline. Have you ever flown with them to Europe? I just got back and it was the absolute worst experience of my life. And 'As God is my witness, I will NEVER use them again!'

Wilma

travelteam.com or autoeurope.com

steve

Go-today.com has great pkg. deals to most major European cities.

Ann

Scarlett-<BR>Can you please elaborate as to why Delta was so awful to Europe? I am consiering using them to Athens in Aug.

j

Sometimes it is the service or attitude of the airline that makes one never to fly it again. If yours was Delta, mine was United. They cancelled my flight to Paris because of bad weather. True, it was not their fault but it was their attitude that made me swear "I'll NEVER USE them again"!! They told the passengers to "just go home and come back tomorrow and we'll see what we can do", without offering alternatives and even if it was only mid-afternoon where they can help rebook later. All passengers went back to their homes or hotels WITHOUT help from the ticket agents to the United baggage handlers!! So if I see a United sale fare, I just ignore it, I'm not even tempted. I will pay more for peace of mind and good attitudes.

gigi

~~<BR>CHECK OUT: www.johnnyjet.com<BR><BR>It's more than an airfare site, it's the mother of all travel websites. 'Johnny Jet' has many, many links to bargain airfare sites, hotel sites, travel info, etc ...

Manny

Ann,<BR>Every airline has an occasioal bad flight. I just flew Delta RT to Munich and the flights were OK. When those bad flights come up it is just part of travelling.<BR>Manny

Scarlett

Ann - I normally would agree with Manny that every airline has an occasional bad flight, but Delta is my exception to that rule. If you have very short legs, you may be okay, but if you're tall get ready for an agonizing flight. I got to the ticket counter 3 hours early each time in hopes of getting an exit row or bulkhead seat and each time I was told all seats were already assigned and no changes could be made. Without exception, they were always to the point of being rude before I even got past my opening statement of "Good morning/afternoon, how are you?" <BR><BR>I kept the pillow between my knees and the seat in front of me to lessen the pain, but this was a long flight to London and back, and I still have bruises 4 days later! So again, I say I will NEVER use them again!

Emily

Hotwire has always given me fares with Northwest--though lately their (Hotwire's) summer trips to Europe don't seem that much cheaper than Expedia or Orbitz. Believe it or not, I actually found the best Europe fare (leaving late May) through the United website. Last summer I got a great deal with Swissair on Priceline but this year Priceline wasn't biting for less than around $700--with the taxes they add on, not really worth the risk of getting a bad airline or flight times.