Best Flights Between NYC and Rome

[shainky84]

Flights are now on sale for my travel dates between NYC and Rome next June. Just curious to see if anyone has any recommendations for airlines, flight times, connecting airports, specific seats, etc. Cost is a factor, but we are willing to spend a little more for piece of mind and/or ease of travel.

 

We are arriving in Rome three days before embarkation so we have lots of flexible on the outbound leg. Our ships arrives in Civitecchia at 5am on disembarkation day, and we will come home right away, so the earliest departure I'd book for the inbound leg is 11:30am.

 

Based on flight times for the return trip, we only have two options for non-stops: Delta or Alitalia, and the latter is currently about $300 cheaper per person. Have people flown on these flights? What have your impressions been?

 

If we book a connecting flight, we are looking for layovers of at least 90 minutes but no more than about 4 hours. We would only be willing to connect in Western Europe (no Istanbul or Moscow). Does anyone have recommendations?

 

Thanks.

[RealDeal]

You might want to check Newark. We're flying United direct to Rome in October.

[Karynanne]

AA flies direct to Rome. We fly British Air via London to Rome.

[cle-guy]

The best flight is the shortest flight followed by the cheapest ticket.

 

End of the day, unless flying 1st or business, it's about the same, and even these variances aren;t so dramatic on flights over the ocean anymore.

 

That said, as I'm only about 80,000 miles short of Lifetime Gold status with United, I'd recommend them.

 

I use Kayak.com to compare flights.

 

I did the TA to rome, used the celebrity bus to rome city center. It was about 1 hr 30 minutes, so I'd think the airport is about 45 min to an hour from port by bus, no traffic getting to the airport. You may find that flights before 11:30 are possible.

Edited August 3, 2015 by cle-guy

[Pavovsky]

Skyscanner to compare. Direct flights are far far preferable - avoid Alitalia. After that the cheapest as said above.

 

 

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[LEtue]

All of the above is good advise and definitely check all surrounding airports!

 

You will also want to check who is operating the Alitalia and Delta flight. It is probably the same flight since they are affiliated.

 

I booked my recent air on American but the flight was operated by US Air.

[cle-guy]

Skyscanner to compare. Direct flights are far far preferable - avoid Alitalia. After that the cheapest as said above.

 

Good point, and as others said, be sure to check if a flight listed as Alitalia is actually flown by Delta, in which case it's ok. Just avoid Alitalia metal. I've found them to be quite disorganized, tight uncomfortable seating.

[Zach1213]

The best flight is the shortest flight followed by the cheapest ticket.

 

That's your opinion, and it's fine, but it's not fact. I would be happy to fly a bit further and spend a bit more if it meant a more comfortable product, or better inflight entertainment, or going through a preferred airport (should nonstop flights be unavailable), or gaining miles with a certain alliance.

[Zach1213]

All of the above is good advise and definitely check all surrounding airports!

 

You will also want to check who is operating the Alitalia and Delta flight. It is probably the same flight since they are affiliated.

 

I booked my recent air on American but the flight was operated by US Air.

 

In this case, American and US Airways are now merged and are the same airline. In the Alitalia/Delta case, they are partners but completely separate airlines. Just FYI.

[kelmac]

We like the early morning British Airways flight JFK to London Heathrow; we spend some time in London and fly to FCO a few days later. BA -- London to Rome, the price of Club Europe is just a bit more than coach and seems like a good deal. We love the Lounge at Heathrow or Gatwick. The lounge at FCO is closed because of the fire recently.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Zach1213]

We like the early morning British Airways flight JFK to London Heathrow; we spend some time in London and fly to FCO a few days later. BA -- London to Rome, the price of Club Europe is just a bit more than coach and seems like a good deal. We love the Lounge at Heathrow or Gatwick. The lounge at FCO is closed because of the fire recently.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

Another option from London is to fly Alitalia CityLiner from London City Airport (LCY) to FCO. In my opinion, it's hard to beat LCY if you're in the city center.

[shainky84]

In case it wasn't clear, we live in the NYC area. JFK is closest to our home, so that is preferred airport. However, if the price from Newark (EWR) is cheap enough to warrant our extra travel we would consider it.

 

While we could take an outbound flight from either airport, the United flight to Newark and the American flight back to NYC depart before 10am; too early to comfortable make. (United is the only carrier to fly non-stop to Newark; all others use JFK.)

 

Alitalia has 3 daily flights in each direction. We could take either one on the way out, but only one departs late enough for the return trip. Delta has one daily flight, and the return flight leaves late enough for us to make. Yes, that's one flight on each airline, operated by that airline.....So we have two options for the non-stop.

 

Is Delta worth the extra $300 each vs. flying Alitalia? I know we will arrive safely on either, but I want to be as comfortable as possible for the 8-9 hours.

 

Spending time in the connection city is not something we want to consider; we'd rather maximize our time in Rome. That's the reason we don't want to consider a connection longer than 4 hours.

 

We've ruled out Aeroflot connecting in Moscow for the reason of paying a little more for better experience. We are considering a few other connection options as below. Have people had experiences with these airlines?

 

Aer Lingus via Dublin - connection times about 1 hr, 45 mins to 2 hrs

SAS via Copenhagen - connection times about 4-4.5 hrs

Air France via Paris - connection times about 2 hrs.

 

Thanks!

[cle-guy]

We've ruled out Aeroflot connecting in Moscow for the reason of paying a little more for better experience. We are considering a few other connection options as below. Have people had experiences with these airlines?

 

Aer Lingus via Dublin - connection times about 1 hr, 45 mins to 2 hrs

SAS via Copenhagen - connection times about 4-4.5 hrs

Air France via Paris - connection times about 2 hrs.

 

Thanks!

 

Air France via Paris, I will say in all my international travels, Paris DeGaule Airport was the most difficult to navigate and follow signage. If you've never been thru there before, I'd avoid it if you have tight connections in case you get lost. 2 hours would be tight I think, especially if any delay on the inbound flight. IF you were able to know what terminal you arrive and depart from, MAYBE I'd go for it, but even if you think you know, it can change. And I assume AirFrance flies put of multiple terminals being the flag carrier there.

 

Of all the airlines I've ever flown, Alitalia ranks in the bottom, followed by American. Alitalia was just cramped and felt rude somehow. American, maybe it's just me, but I've never, not once, ever had their flights all be on time on an itinerary.

[shainky84]

Thanks.

 

Domestically I prefer JetBlue, but when traveling overseas I've only flown British Airways (15 years ago), El Al, and Transaero (not by choice, and never again if I can help it). Last American experience wasn't great - the flight was fine, but was delayed on both ends. But it American ranks higher than Alitalia, I will think twice.

[shainky84]

You might want to check Newark. We're flying United direct to Rome in October.

 

 

Don't think we can. Return flight departs too early.

[shainky84]

AA flies direct to Rome. We fly British Air via London to Rome.

 

 

AA's return flight leaves too early. But I'd consider BA if price was right. Lots of AA that I can use on BA

[Karynanne]

AA's return flight leaves too early. But I'd consider BA if price was right. Lots of AA that I can use on BA

 

 

That's what we do...use our AA points on BA.

[davrap222]

I made the decision (mistake?) of booking Alitalia out of Boston, non-stop to Rome through Choice Air based based only on shortest flight and price for a cruise in September. Booking it online was super easy. I actually am flying home from Venice (routing through Rome). I received an email from Choice Air a couple of weeks ago, advising of a schedule change. It was slight, only a 10min change on the outgoing flight. However, I took a look at it online on Alitalia's site to find my wife's seating assignments were gone on all 3 flights. Alitalia could not explain it but told me in order for my wife to get the seat next to me it would cost $12 because it was considered a "Comfort Seat". I moved our seats but when I look online, they still show me in my original seats, even though when I call, they see that I am in new seat. Small annoyance. I am sure it will work out.

 

I love the idea of a non-stop overnight flight but after reading dozens of bad (really horrible) reviews, I think I made a mistake choosing Alitalia. I understand that the planes they use out of Boston are very old. Hoping an Ambien will help me sleep through the experience!

[shainky84]

Hi Dave & Dawn,

 

I'm not if this advice will help or hurt the situation, but you can find out more about the specific aircraft using some flight tracking websites. I'm not sure what the rules are for sharing those links here, so if you are interested in doing so, please email me. In short, you can use one website to find the flight number, another to find the exact aircraft flying that flight on a given day, and then another look up the registration date for that aircraft. After you've done that all once, you only need the last site each time you look.....I just looked, and the aircraft flying the FCO-BOS route and then the return tonight came off the line in 2000.

 

Sorry to hear about your situation. Sounds like it's quite the hassle, and although minor, not something you want to have to deal with. My fiance is not the best flyer - he's tall, he hates to sit still for long periods of time, he can't sleep on planes and hates taking meds to help that, etc. - so I want to book flights that will help make him as comfortable as possible. I, on the other hand, love to fly.

 

Best of luck to you!

[Globaliser]

After you've done that all once, you only need the last site each time you look.....I just looked, and the aircraft flying the FCO-BOS route and then the return tonight came off the line in 2000.

Wouldn't you need to do most of this every day? It's likely to be a different aircraft every day so you need to find out the registration each day before you can look up its date of manufacture.

 

In any event, the chronological age of the aircraft is pretty meaningless to a passenger. When people say "very old", they're usually talking about the condition of the cabin. But there are some very old aircraft with absolutely brand new cabins. Most passengers on them wouldn't have a clue that the aircraft was old.

[FlyerTalker]

In any event, the chronological age of the aircraft is pretty meaningless to a passenger. When people say "very old", they're usually talking about the condition of the cabin. But there are some very old aircraft with absolutely brand new cabins. Most passengers on them wouldn't have a clue that the aircraft was old.

Just flew on an A320 on DL that looked REALLY "new" inside the cabin. But I knew that DL wasn't getting any new 320s. So I asked the captain - "Is this a new aircraft or one that has just gotten a cabin mod?" He said - "new interior, same plane".

 

Also, FWIW, both AZ and CDG have gotten much better in the last few years. The AF merger with KL has brought good things to the ground experience at CDG - along with the consolidation of all SkyTeam flights into T2E and T2F, with E being for extra-Schengen and F for intra-Schengen. AZ has gotten much better, in some ways because of its relationship with Eithad. Look at the dates of reviews - if they are in the last 18 months, they are more valid than those from 3-10 years back.

 

BTW, my most recent experience at CDG was within the last 3 months - ditto with flying AZ.

[shainky84]

I mis-typed. You can use one site to look up all the aircraft registration numbers for a given type of aircraft - in this case Alitalia's fleet of A330s. If note all the registration IDs and their dates of delivery, you only need the second site each day.

 

A very fair point about cabin condition. Some aircraft are retrofitted or updated. But, in my experience, newer metal often (usually) means better cabin.

[shainky84]

Great feedback! Very nice to hear something positive, as comments of this nature seem to be less and less common. Thanks so much!

[slidergirl]

I'm with FlyerTalker on this one. I flew AZ JFK-FCO-JFK this past April and May. Now, I was up in their Business class. I have to say those two flights were among the best I've every had. The seating pods were lay-flat and my solo pod next to a window felt very private. The food was outright the best I've had on a flight. Multiple courses, individually plated and served right at my seat. Everything was tasty and cooked correctly. A very nice selection of wines. I wouldn't hesitate to book with AZ again.

 

I also rather enjoy transiting through CDG now. The horrid busses that had to run from plane to hardstand and terminals is largely gone. All the SkyTeam airlines run out of T3E/F, and they have trams running to the various piers of those terminals, like at ATL. I have booked Delta flights to specifically transit at CDG rather than ATL and JFK at times. If I must overnight, I just stay right in the terminal at the Sheraton - nothing easier than that!

[in2up2]

 

 

 

SAS via Copenhagen - connection times about 4-4.5 hrs

Thanks!

 

 

Having recently flown EWR-Copenhagen-rome on SAS, I wouldn't recommend that option. Very cramped seating, one bottle of water per coach passenger, limited entertainment.

 

 

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