Best time to book air to Rome?

[sue in florida]

My friends and I are going on the Equinox the middle of October. Air fare is really high right now. Any suggestions on when might be the best time to book?

Thanks in advance.

Sue

[CathyCruises]

Have they looked into Choice Air? Sometimes they have better deals, and sometimes you can get cheaper flights by booking two one way fares--it's worth a try.

[Azulann]

sue,

You said that air fare is really high now. Compared to what? Last year, compared to flying in July or August?

 

Have you been tracking different airlnes and the day of departure to get a feel for the prices? Have you noticed the fares decreasing?

 

You also need to look at going to Rome at least a day early and then do you leave the same day or day later after your cruise? After the cruise ,if leaving the same day, you need to book flight no earlier than noon. You will also need transfers from airport to city and transfer to port . The airport is about 1 hour from Rome and 45 minutes from airport to port.You could also use the train if you want.

 

With the price of fuel these days, I don't think the fares will go down significantly. And if you are traveling in a group, you want to be on the same plane. So even if you find one fare cheaper, the others in your party might not get the same price.

 

Go to your roll call and ask others what they think. I am sure many of them have already booked their airfare. Once you find the right departure date and return date, book it.

[DonRobertoSanJuan]

I was unlucky enough to book (in Nov) an AA codeshare flight to Rome operated by Iberia. Now the Iberia pilot union is on strike every Monday and Friday until??? Have to wait and see if our Saturday/Sunday flights are affected.:eek:

[PatriciaF]

We are sailing on the Equinox in November. I used Choice Air as it was competitive with the rates I found on Kayak. I booked now as I don't think the rates are going to drop.

 

Friends have been looking to go to Europe for a week to ten days in December and haven't found anything under $1200.

 

Unless the price of fuel takes a nose dive, I don't think the rates will drop significantly.

 

Celebrity's transfer from FCO to the port (Civitavecchia) is $92/person each way. If you have a group, you could probably get a private transfer for less. I have used Rome Cabs for transfer FCO to Rome and will probably use them again.

 

If you are up to it, the train is cheap--but you will need to shlep your own luggage on and off and transfer at Travestere. Lots of info about using the train on the Italy forum of the European ports of call board.

[sooper]

Unless it's an extraordinary airfare sale, I don't find booking airfare being cheaper over 3 months out. I've tracked and seen airfare to Rome in May was cheaper last month (under $1K) than 5-6 months ago.

[suec12]

We are going to London in Sept. - I have been checking airfare for the last several months - finally there was a $200 per person drop for about a week. I think if you can do it, the best thing is to watch and check the seating for the flights you want. There is certainly plenty of time and the flights I wanted dropped even tho fuel prices have gone up so you never know. But do keep an eye on how full the planes are as I think there is less chance of prices dropping as the planes fill up.

[PatriciaF]

I think there are sites like Kayak that let you have an alert sent to you if fares drop.

 

There was a fare cheaper than the one we picked but it was on Turkish Air, nonstop LAX to Istanbul with a 18 hours layover before the flight to Rome.

 

Good luck. I hope I don't regret our early purchase. But I have been able to move from economy to economy plus when I have bought early and the fares subsequently dropped.

[doctork]

The New York Times publishes an article in the sunday Travel section on "the sweet spot" for airfares to Europe and declared that it is 21 to 22 weeks out from departure. The same article suggested finding the cheapest European airport destination (Berlin or Shannon instead of London or Paris), then investigating trains or low cost air carriers from there to your actual destination. That seems like a lot of trouble to me, especially for cruise passengers who may have a lot of luggage.

 

Farecast is on the Bing travel website and if it has your city pairs (it is weak on international destinations), it will tell you whether its prediction is for fares to go up or down on that route. It is said to be about 75% accurate.

 

I sign up for notification of fare drops/good fares at Travelocity and similar websites, then when I see a good fare, I buy it - usually at the airline website although Travelocity's support phone line is pretty good. Sometimes I buy through my local bricks and mortar travel agent who has a 24 hour emergency help line. I have purchased exceptionally good airfares online through Vayama, but I have had a few headaches with them too, so I am a bit skittish now.

 

Bottom line - a few weeks of research and close attention so you recognize a good fare when it shows up, then buy it right away. October is "shoulder season" for Europe, so you may find fares considerably lower than the summer fares, despite ongoing increases in fuel costs.

[Sailawaytoday]

Keep checking, and you will eventually find a dip. If you check regularly, you will get an idea of what a "normal" fare is, and can recognize a sale when you see it. Right now, the air fares seem be building summer demand into their fall pricing, and it should drop. The planes won't be nearly as full in fall.

 

I put Skyscanner in my Ipad, which scanned all available fares to my destination. I was looking for Barcelona in June. Over a six week window, I saw fares up or down as much as $500. Eventually, there was a dip, and we bought one stop tickets for $1200.

 

Happy hunting!

 

My friends and I are going on the Equinox the middle of October. Air fare is really high right now. Any suggestions on when might be the best time to book?

Thanks in advance.

Sue