Booking Air Fare to/from Venice - July

We have a couple of itineraries picked out for a Med cruise on the Silhouette this July 2014. Air fares are steep - I'm seeing 1700-1800 pp. By waiting until now to book, did I already miss the cheaper fare time frame OR am I still too early for a more reasonable rates?. I know it's the Med in the summer and air tends to be higher, but this is higher than I remember it ever being before. It's our 30th in July, so we really wanted to go in/around our anniversary but I'll tell you, the airfare is making me cringe.

That does seem a little high. If you haven't already booked your cruise, try looking for a cruise that begins and/or ends in a larger city - say Barcelona or Rome - but includes Venice in the itinerary. The airfare might be a few hundred dollars less because there are more planes going to those cities more competition.

 

Also check out European-based airlines instead of United, American, and Delta. Try Lufthansa, Alitalia, British Airways,TAP Portugal, etc. You will most probably have to change plans at a European hub but might save a few hundred dollars.

You like to give some Details on your Trip?

P.e. NYC to italy by Emirates , final Price below 1000 incl. Tax

Date seached july 1st to 20....

It can vary. We cruised out of Venice in June. We booked air last September right after booking the cruise which was nine months out. We got what I thought was great prices by using Kayak to book our Delta flights. The same prices on Delta were over double the amount paid for the same flights.

 

This year we are flying to Barcelona to meet the ship and home from Venice. We booked as soon as the air became available as we wanted Business Class. It proved to be a good idea as prices have more than doubled and space is going quickly. Especially on our return flight from Venice. We also checked air through Celebrity and it was the same price.

Edited December 21, 2013 by cruisingator2

Have you tried booking your through Celebrity's Choice Air?

We have been watching July air fares from Dallas to London since last Aug & they have also been very high. $1500- 1600each. Finally gave up & booked as they kept creeping up.

I checked flight from Toronto to Venice for you date- 1114 pp non-stop Air Transat. Where are you flying from?

Atlanta to Venice (RT) ...looking at July 24 returning - Aug 4 or 5th.

 

Yes, I just looked at ChoiceAir...not seeing much of a difference there either.

 

Wanted to keep it to one stop if possible.

Going to MXP saves you about 400 .....

Its about 150 miles ....

Flying in and out of Atlanta may be the problem. Is there any other airport within driving distance? uSAirways has very convenient flights. Maybe you could buy 2 tickets...one RT Atlanta to Philly....and another from Phl to VCE. You could try this arrangement with other cities. Alitalia from JFK. Shop around

Its Holiday Season within Europe.....pricing is extremly high

Normal Fra - ATL is arround 600, at this specific date 1000

Atlanta to Venice (RT) ...looking at July 24 returning - Aug 4 or 5th.

 

Yes, I just looked at ChoiceAir...not seeing much of a difference there either.

 

Wanted to keep it to one stop if possible.

 

Check Kayak. You can set alerts. That is how we found the deal last year. We like direct flights which is what we were able to get last year and this year. The less stops usually means a higher price. I also don't see Atlanta being the issue. We have some great prices out of here. :)

Edited December 21, 2013 by cruisingator2

To get a overview you may try the "matrix"....

Looking at nearby airports...I live about 1 hour from ATL and a bit over an hour to Chattanooga, TN.

 

RT Chattanooga to Atlanta (regional jet). Then change planes...direct Atlanta to Venice....1641.00 - All on Delta.

Or:

RT Atlanta to Venice...1869.00 - Delta

 

This is the SAME direct Atlanta to Venice flight. Are you kidding me? So it's essentially over $200 cheaper to take a regional flight to meet up with the flight I was originally considering.

 

Is that crazy or what? Why?

We are flying Australia - Dubai - Venice and return to Australia in July and airfares are around $2k each which given the costs here seem very good value. On the other hand a flight Athens - Venice was really expensive.

I did a cruise out of Venice this past July and paid a little less than $1,200 (from Ottawa/YOW). I found the cost of flying into Venice a bit high (compared to Rome it's a much smaller airport with less service) and decided to fly in a couple days early to Rome and then take the train from Rome to Venice. The money I saved on my flight pretty much covered my hotel stay in Rome.

 

So, use ITA Matrix to search for flights. Choose a number of different departure airports to see if that makes a difference and if you can, choose a number of arrival airports to see if that could also make a difference. I suspect you may also see some price drop when you are within 6 mths of your travel time but that is just my prior experience and may not be relative to your travel.

Milan would be another option on the European side.

By waiting until now to book, did I already miss the cheaper fare time frame OR am I still too early for a more reasonable rates?.

To put your mind at ease...there is no "cheaper fare time frame". What there is is pure supply and demand, combined with yield management algorithms. Especially into a city such as VCE, "cruise day" puts tremendous demand onto the system. So searching for alternative dates and cities makes a lot of sense. It can often be better to spend more time in VCE, even with the high hotel rates. Or taking the train in/out of VCE and utilizing another European air gateway. Or doing your search from ATL, CLT, or other cities. Plus, the DL non-stops to VCE often get a price premium for the convenience. Know what you value having several connections is. Would you pay $150 less and have one more connection?? Best tool for research IMO is ITA Software.

 

You may want to read a subsequent post regarding using Kayak for air searches.

We got what I thought was great prices by using Kayak to book our Delta flights. The same prices on Delta were over double the amount paid for the same flights.

Just a heads up. If your Delta ticket was priced less than what you could have bought the same flights for directly from Delta -- it is almost certain that you have a bulk/consolidator/contracted ticket, which is NOT the same as you would get from DL directly.

 

Now, before this veers off-course -- there is nothing wrong with buying a consolidator ticket, IF you are aware of the potential pitfalls and drawbacks AND you are willing to accept those in exchange for the lower price. Only you can decide if that's a good choice, based on your own levels of risk tolerance and priorities.

 

Kayak will point to consolidator tickets without disclosing this. And many online sites obscure the underlying nature of the tickets. So the rule of thumb is -- if the ticket is less than what the airline would sell it for, then it likely is a restricted conso ticket.

 

Which is NOT the same as you would get from the airline. Even though you have the same flight. Even if you can choose seats. Even if you may earn miles. Even if you can see your reservation on the website. Caveat emptor.

Looking at nearby airports...I live about 1 hour from ATL and a bit over an hour to Chattanooga, TN.

 

RT Chattanooga to Atlanta (regional jet). Then change planes...direct Atlanta to Venice....1641.00 - All on Delta.

Or:

RT Atlanta to Venice...1869.00 - Delta

 

This is the SAME direct Atlanta to Venice flight. Are you kidding me? So it's essentially over $200 cheaper to take a regional flight to meet up with the flight I was originally considering.

 

Is that crazy or what? Why?

Airline pricing does NOT correspond directly to distance, or even the flights involved.

 

From CHA, there are various options to Europe, all involving some connection in the USA before going across the pond. Greater competition. OTOH, at ATL, DL is the big dog and gets to exert fortress hub pricing. In general, prices are higher from hubs than non-hubs - both because of the fortress nature and the attractiveness of non-stops. So, it makes perfect "airline sense" to price CHA-ATL-XYZ cheaper than ATL-XYZ. If you try to think in an linear fashion, it will just leave you confused.

 

Ditto with flights going "the wrong way". In airline terms, it may very well make sense to price flights cheaper even though the trip flies more miles. Don't try to outthink the airline yield management systems...it's a fools errand.

 

So, now that you can go cheaper from CHA, is that changing your calculus?

I'm not sure prices will go down. Be aware this is the time of year whole Europe is on the move. Prices during all of July are very high. You can wait and hope another deal comes up. But deals are rare during high season.

Use sites such as Kayak which can predict what an airfare can/will do, but it's not always accurate. Prices for next year seem to be higher as well.

You still have some time to book your ticket, so I'd wait a little more if you're really doubting these high ticket prices.

You like to give some Details on your Trip?

P.e. NYC to italy by Emirates , final Price below 1000 incl. Tax

Date seached july 1st to 20....

 

Sounds great, except that the OP isn't originating in NY, so she'd have to add the cost of RT tickets to NY.

To put your mind at ease...there is no "cheaper fare time frame". What there is is pure supply and demand, combined with yield management algorithms. Especially into a city such as VCE, "cruise day" puts tremendous demand onto the system. So searching for alternative dates and cities makes a lot of sense. It can often be better to spend more time in VCE, even with the high hotel rates. Or taking the train in/out of VCE and utilizing another European air gateway. Or doing your search from ATL, CLT, or other cities. Plus, the DL non-stops to VCE often get a price premium for the convenience. Know what you value having several connections is. Would you pay $150 less and have one more connection?? Best tool for research IMO is ITA Software.

 

You may want to read a subsequent post regarding using Kayak for air searches.

 

Airline pricing does NOT correspond directly to distance, or even the flights involved.

 

From CHA, there are various options to Europe, all involving some connection in the USA before going across the pond. Greater competition. OTOH, at ATL, DL is the big dog and gets to exert fortress hub pricing. In general, prices are higher from hubs than non-hubs - both because of the fortress nature and the attractiveness of non-stops. So, it makes perfect "airline sense" to price CHA-ATL-XYZ cheaper than ATL-XYZ. If you try to think in an linear fashion, it will just leave you confused.

 

Ditto with flights going "the wrong way". In airline terms, it may very well make sense to price flights cheaper even though the trip flies more miles. Don't try to outthink the airline yield management systems...it's a fools errand.

 

So, now that you can go cheaper from CHA, is that changing your calculus?

 

Thank you for explaining. We are trying to flex the arrival/departure date a bit into VCE - working with what limited vacation time we do have. Looking for the best combination that will give us time in Venice either pre or post cruise.

 

Looks like it may be Chattannooga for the win. Certainly not the worst thing in the world by any means.

 

Thank you to all for suggesting the ITA software.

 

Question - I know I can't do this on the flight out, but on the way back, can we get off in Atlanta and not take that last leg? Easier for family to pick us up from there to be honest. What about our luggage - can we ask that it not be checked through to CHA?

Edited December 22, 2013 by mickeysgal

Question - I know I can't do this on the flight out, but on the way back, can we get off in Atlanta and not take that last leg? Easier for family to pick us up from there to be honest. What about our luggage - can we ask that it not be checked through to CHA?

 

Try booking it like that - going from CHA and coming back to ATL. I've seen it work out cheaper in some instances.

 

Also, don't be afraid to look at air to alternate cities - Milan being the most obvious. The Italian train system is very easy and efficient.

Try looking at your trip as a multi-city set of flights instead of just a plain round trip. That sometimes yields some more attractive pairing and pricing.

Doing the ATL-VCE or even the CHA-VCE as a round trip traps you into very small subset of flights.

Put in each connecting city as a segment: figure out what airports you wouldn't mind connecting through and put them in. Example: ATL to JFK, JFK to VCE, VCE to AMS, AMS to ATL. Or ATL to DTW, DTW to VCE, etc…

 

It's what I always to when I'm hunting for flights, either paid or done with points...