The Dis Goes to Italy 5/24 - 6/1/2012 Viva Italia!!!!

[apurplebrat]

When we did the trip last month, we flew Air France and had our connections in CDG for our flights into Rome and out of Venice.
In both instances you had to go from one terminal to another. 2E to 2F if memory serves.
In order to do this, you take a shuttle bus.
You also walk down and around and up and down and around again in the process.
Also, you WILL have to go through passport control and a security check point.

I wouldn't want to have any less time than 2 hours between flights.
A slight delay in your arriving flight could become very stressful

Oh, BTW on our flight into CDG from NY, they didn't have a gate available and we disembarked via a stairway and then had to take a shuttle bus to the main shuttle bus... They have a lot of those stair thingings all over the place, so my assumption is that this is a common occurrence

Also, just an FYI... The Venice airport is crazy crowded when you first get there. The check in counters don't open until 2 hours before scheduled flights, this is for all airlines. While tourist travel has increased, the area at the check in counter and security has not. It is truly "cattle call" time.
Once you get through security the airport itself is beautiful at the gate areas.
ABD will have your water taxi scheduled to pick you up approx. 3 hours before your flight !!!
Trust me .... You'll need it

This is great info. I love love love Paris but not CDG airport. I think I will try to avoid a connection there. The Delta flight from Venice to JFK with a connnector to Bos might be the way to go for us.

 

[JWren1234]

When we did the trip last month, we flew Air France and had our connections in CDG for our flights into Rome and out of Venice.
In both instances you had to go from one terminal to another. 2E to 2F if memory serves.
In order to do this, you take a shuttle bus.
You also walk down and around and up and down and around again in the process.
Also, you WILL have to go through passport control and a security check point.

I wouldn't want to have any less time than 2 hours between flights.
A slight delay in your arriving flight could become very stressful

Oh, BTW on our flight into CDG from NY, they didn't have a gate available and we disembarked via a stairway and then had to take a shuttle bus to the main shuttle bus... They have a lot of those stair thingings all over the place, so my assumption is that this is a common occurrence

Also, just an FYI... The Venice airport is crazy crowded when you first get there. The check in counters don't open until 2 hours before scheduled flights, this is for all airlines. While tourist travel has increased, the area at the check in counter and security has not. It is truly "cattle call" time.
Once you get through security the airport itself is beautiful at the gate areas.
ABD will have your water taxi scheduled to pick you up approx. 3 hours before your flight !!!
Trust me .... You'll need it

Thank you so much for posting this Marilee! This is very helpful

This is great info. I love love love Paris but not CDG airport. I think I will try to avoid a connection there. The Delta flight from Venice to JFK with a connnector to Bos might be the way to go for us.

I agree about CDG, I didn't have a particularly good experience. Thankfully the bellini and the wine from the night before helped to keep me mellow and get me through it!

Jason

 

[tardis1029]

I am flying American from Boston to JFK and then British Airways JFK-London-Rome, then Venice-London-Singapore-Melbourne-Canberra (Stopping for a couple of nights in London - with the possibility of a sneaky side trip to Paris).

Matt -

You seem to be the expert flier here - so I hope you don't mind my silly question --- John is looking into the flights and one of the options is to take one carrier to London and another carrier to Rome - Here is my silly question... If we do that ( 2 different airlines ) - Does my luggage follow me ??? or do I have to pick it up when we land in London and check it in at the next carrier to Rome ..
I don't care so much about the jet lag as I do about having my luggage.
We have always taken direct flights but the price is so much cheaper with connections .....

However we have also been looking into BA to London - Rome too
Thank Micki

 

[tardis1029]

I think I could plan an entire trip around a trip to Fauchon.

The 2012 Eclair......

ahhh how wonderful that would be right now ... there are snow flakes outside my window and it's only OCTOBER in NYC
Micki

 

[tardis1029]

Italy is part of the EU and euros are the coin of the realm.

By the way....you know us.....we are not usually willing to just let things be.

We always like to tinker with our trips.

No details, no answers, nothing definite...but....you may have options.

There...was that cryptic enough?

Buono Serra!

TINKER AWAY !! we are with you 110% ....
Micki

 

[stenogoddess]

Micki: I'm no expert but I think if you change airlines you have to pick up your bags. I also think that if you don't book it all as one ticket you have to pick up your bags. The savings may not be worth it. (can't wait to see you and John in Dec!)

Kevin: Can't wait for the new and improved plan. What luck you guys get to go to Italy early to pave the way for our trip! Totally a win-win.

 

[corky441]

Hi Mickie -

Right now I'm looking at flights for the Bella Italia trip next year, my wishful thinking planning

The airlines these days all do what they call "code sharing". They affiliate themselves with other airlines and, for a better word, share flights.

For example, I'm looking at Air Italia for a flight into Venice. The leg from JFK takes me to Rome, this flight is really on Delta. The leg from Rome to Venice is on Air Italia. It's ONE ticket so my bags will follow me.
But, if I booked a flight on Delta to Rome and then booked the Rome to Venice flight separately - I would have TWO tickets and would have to retrieve my luggage and go through security again.

For us, I also have to consider our flight from Buffalo to NY. We like to fly Jet Blue and they code share with Luftstansa and Aer Lingus.
. So. If I book with Jet Blue/Luftstansa or Jet Blue/Aer Lingus, i will have a connection in both JFK and Frankfurt Germany or Dublin Ireland, but my luggage will get checked all the way to Venice and all I have to do is get to the necessary terminals and
gates.

Whew... And I thought just worrying about the jet lag was a pain

 

[mattincanberra]

If we do that ( 2 different airlines ) - Does my luggage follow me ??? or do I have to pick it up when we land in London and check it in at the next carrier to Rome ..

However we have also been looking into BA to London - Rome too
Thank Micki

Usually if you are on one ticket there is not a problem.

But it is often cheaper to book two different tickets - for example, New York - London on American, then BA to Rome.

If you stick to the members of the same alliance, usually you would drop your bags off at New York, and then not see them again until Rome.

There are three alliances:
Oneworld - www.oneworld.com (BA, American, Iberia and others)
Skyteam - www.skyteam.com (Delta, Alitalia, KLM, Air France and others)
Star - www.staralliance.com (Lufthansa, United, Swiss, bmi and others

if you stick within one of the alliances you will get bags interlined, and also your frequent flyer miles will all go into one account.

 

[jcb]

If you are still air fare shopping, you might check fares today. AA, US Air and United have dropped fares significantly for our itinerary (which is a bit strange).

 

[Chropistopy]

If you are still air fare shopping, you might check fares today. AA, US Air and United have dropped fares significantly for our itinerary (which is a bit strange).

Jack - Does that mean you guys have officially joined the group?

Anyone have any feedback on these airlines? I've never flown with US Air or United. I checked out US Air and found a fare that is several hundred dollars less than Delta...who is my preferred airline.

 

[jcb]

Jack - Does that mean you guys have officially joined the group?

Anyone have any feedback on these airlines? I've never flown with US Air or United. I checked out US Air and found a fare that is several hundred dollars less than Delta...who is my preferred airline.

"Officially" we are waiting for Kevin to get back to me on a quote and since he is in Hawaii (or on the way at least) I told him not to hurry. But unofficially, we are planning on it.

We regularly fly US Air. Our last flight was 2 weeks ago and it was utterly painless. We flew US Air for PCC 2.0 and the only downside was that we had to walk from one end of the Charlotte airport to the other. I don't know why I found that more of an ordeal than Hartsfield or O'Hare. Unfamiliarity, I suppose.

I've flown United without incident but I only fly them sporadically. Same for AA.

I'm like you. Delta is my first choice but not if they are, as they are at present, $1000 more per person than AA/United/US Air. I'm hoping Delta will match this fare sale pretty soon.

 

[jcb]

Jack - Does that mean you guys have officially joined the group?

Anyone have any feedback on these airlines? I've never flown with US Air or United. I checked out US Air and found a fare that is several hundred dollars less than Delta...who is my preferred airline.

"Officially" we are waiting for Kevin to get back to me on a quote and since he is in Hawaii (or on the way at least) I told him not to hurry. But unofficially, we are planning on it.

We regularly fly US Air. Our last flight was 2 weeks ago and it was utterly painless. We flew US Air for PCC 2.0 and the only downside was that we had to walk from one end of the Charlotte airport to the other. I don't know why I found that more of an ordeal than Hartsfield or O'Hare. Unfamiliarity, I suppose.

I've flown United without incident but I only fly them sporadically. Same for AA.

I'm like you. Delta is my first choice but right now they $1000 more per person than AA/United/US Air. I'm hoping Delta will match this fare sale pretty soon.

 

[stenogoddess]

Delta is our preferred airline too. But United as a flight for $500 bucks to get over there and $900 to get back. I don't know if we should go ahead and book or wait and hope that Delta matches. I don't know what the odds are on that. I feel very torn. I check first class prices and they haven't changed, mores the pity, but for that money I could book three econo seats like John and Kevin do, which may go some way towards helping the flight be less of a pain in the butt.

 

[jcb]

Delta is our preferred airline too. But United as a flight for $500 bucks to get over there and $900 to get back. I don't know if we should go ahead and book or wait and hope that Delta matches. I don't know what the odds are on that. I feel very torn. I check first class prices and they haven't changed, mores the pity, but for that money I could book three econo seats like John and Kevin do, which may go some way towards helping the flight be less of a pain in the butt.

Something to consider, United (but not Continental just yet) offers "economy plus" seats which provide a little more legroom. (Continental is supposed to have this soon.) The added cost should not be as much as buying a third seat. For a transatlantic flight, I'll happily pay the extra cost.

 

[stenogoddess]

I didn't know about the economy plus on those airlines, thanks, Jack. I know Delta has it.

Here's why booking airfare is annoying. At Travelocity when I put in that I was looking for one seat I got one set of results, when I put in that I wanted three seats I got totally different results. Cheaper too. Looking for three seats apparently United has a seat for $375, and the $500 seat flight I was looking at doesn't even show up in the matrix. I hate booking airfare!

 

[jcb]

I didn't know about the economy plus on those airlines, thanks, Jack. I know Delta has it.

Here's why booking airfare is annoying. At Travelocity when I put in that I was looking for one seat I got one set of results, when I put in that I wanted three seats I got totally different results. Cheaper too. Looking for three seats apparently United has a seat for $375, and the $500 seat flight I was looking at doesn't even show up in the matrix. I hate booking airfare!

I agree completely. I've gotten to using Yapta (which uses Kayak for airline searches). Unlike the booking sites, Kayak searches airline sites and the booking sites for the best prices. Yapta then lets you track the cost of specific flights.

 

[stenogoddess]

Then I went to find the same flight at Continental itself that's $375 on Travelocity, and it's $795. I have a headache now.

 

[jcb]

Then I went to find the same flight at Continental itself that's $375 on Travelocity, and it's $795. I have a headache now.

One day makes a huge difference in our fare. Leaving 5/22 v 5/23 saves almost $600 per person.

 

[stenogoddess]

Jack, didn't ya know, all the cool kids are coming in on 5/22. And by cool kids I mean me and Jeri! Cool-ER kids may be coming in on other days!

 

[jcb]

Jack, didn't ya know, all the cool kids are coming in on 5/22. And by cool kids I mean me and Jeri! Cool-ER kids may be coming in on other days!

I've never been a cool kid.

I was trying to avoid another day away from work. But I found connections that leave after work or late in the afternoon on 5/22 so that makes the choice even easier. I'm sure I'll appreciate having some time to adjust to the time change.