Best airline and most economical airport from USA to Rome?

[mom-2greatkids]

Last March we flew from Chicago to Milan and then Rome to Chicago. Found a great price from Turkish Air ($650 round trip per person). The only caveat is that we connected through Istanbul. Great airline--we'd fly with them again.

 

[kaytieeldr]

suggest that at least for whatever flight is going over the Atlantic, upgrade to the "Extra Comfort"/"Comfort +" seats for everyone

Everyone you like, at least

I'd also check 2-3 times a week on my own, different days, different times.

And from different devices. Or one device from which you regularly clear cookies/cache.

We also sprung for the upgraded Economy seats. My only objection to them was that, because we had the extra leg room, people kept cutting through our row like it was an aisle. There was an aisle, literally 5 feet in front of us, but people kept using our row. Very annoying.

Tray tables open, heads down on folded arms or travel pillows. Might work. Might not.

What is your favorite/easiest/least expensive hub to fly out of in the US.

Boston/Boston/seriously? I mean, it may be less expensive to fly out of Boston to Europe than to fly out ox LAX, but really, truly, honestly airlines don 't price the way you're asking.

You need a travel agent and to be willing to pay for the work/,research/,information somebody will do on your behalf.

 

[soccerdad72]

Not sure where you live, but Toronto has nonstop flights to Rome. The international flights out of Toronto have mostly been comfortable, but they are the big Canadian carriers. We live in Buffalo, so driving distance of Toronto, which makes it worthwhile for us. I agree with PP that I wouldn't want to fly to just get to a departure airport.

I agree with this - we've flown out of Toronto twice now to Europe (drove to Toronto once, flew there the other time) and I've generally found the best options and pricing was out of Toronto, with Air Canada. The only issues we've had was one flight on their low cost version (Rouge?) and our last trip when our flight out of Cleveland got delayed so we missed our original connection to London (obviously not Air Canada's fault).

 

[nkereina]

You need a travel agent and to be willing to pay for the work/,research/,information somebody will do on your behalf.

FWIW, most travel agents will not book airfare alone for someone and they certainly won't put in a lot of time to research it. Airlines do not pay commission to travel agents. If someone wants to book just airfare with a travel agent, the agent will most likely impose a service fee for doing so because they won't make any money otherwise. If the flight is part of an overall package, of course the agent will book it but they do not make any commission off the price of the flight.

OP - I do agree that perhaps if you take your entire trip to a travel agent along with your budget, he or she can plan something for you and from an airport that works for you. If you're flexible in days you travel, length of time, etc then you should be able to make a reasonable budget work.

 

[kaytieeldr]

FWIW, most travel agents will not book airfare alone for someone and they certainly won't put in a lot of time to research it. Airlines do not pay commission to travel agents.

I'm fully aware, which is why I stated

be willing to pay

 

[nkereina]

I'm fully aware, which is why I stated

Ok. Then consider it me clarifying for the OP will need to pay an actual service fee. When people here they are paying a fee merely for the TA's research, they become more willing to do the legwork themselves.