Flying into one city and out of another. Europe

For our Europe cruise on the Sapphire we will be flying into London and flying home from Rome. I have never booked air that wasn't round trip from and back to the same city. Do you have any tips on insuring we get the best air deals possible?

For our Europe cruise on the Sapphire we will be flying into London and flying home from Rome. I have never booked air that wasn't round trip from and back to the same city. Do you have any tips on insuring we get the best air deals possible?

 

 

You need to book this on one ticker. On the airline or travel agent websites select the mult-city and that should but both flights onto the same ticker.

You are looking for a multi-city itinerary. Every airline I am aware of has a planning tool that will allow you to do as you wish.

Use a site like itamatrix or even kayak working one flight at a time. But watch the taxes mount if you try to book two one ways. That's why the multi- city MAY work better.

While I usually can't recommend your cruise line's air program do check it out too. It may provide the same routings you find for less $$. It doesn't always happen. It didn't for our latest cruise but you never know.

Also if you are returning from your cruise to FCO give yourselves a wide margin for transit from the ship, check in, and the nightmare that is FCO. There is ongoing construction and the signage is not great AND you could experience both a long hike from the terminal and the possibility for a remote stand necessitating a bus ride from the gate. This rec if from personal experience.

You need to book this on one ticker. On the airline or travel agent websites select the mult-city and that should but both flights onto the same ticker.

Not quite.

 

On most airlines, you will do better for TATL flights with an open-jaw return on one ticket. However, there are other airline possibilities that do not require a round-trip or even the same carrier in both directions.

 

To the OP and others: Research both the open-jaw and the one-ways to see what works out best. Especially if flying a discount carrier such as Norwegian or WOW.

Use a site like itamatrix or even kayak working one flight at a time. But watch the taxes mount if you try to book two one ways.

While I agree that pricing a multi-city itinerary to get an open-jaw (A-B // C-A) routing is the way to go, working one flight at a time is unlikely to be a good idea. And it's not the taxes that get you if you try to price two one-ways; in fact, they're usually about the same whether you buy two one-ways (A-B and separately C-A). The increase in cost comes because the cheaper fares are usually simply not available on a one-way basis, so you pay a much higher fare, not higher taxes.

 

If the OP goes to the ITA site and uses the "Multi-city" tab, inputting the details for both directions, that would probably be a good start. Alternatively, they could try the more user-friendly, if rather dumbed-down, version at Google Flights to begin with - although the full ITA site is still the most powerful published fare search engine I have ever used.

 

However, for the reasons that FlyerTalker gives, it is then worth doing a search on one-ways just to see whether there might be something unusual that would work and which the multi-city search misses.

I agree with FlyerTalker and Globaliser. An open jaw trip in Europe is not difficult or unusual, particularly when using the major airports. But the way to get the best possible price is simply doing the research. Check the various options. Monitor prices.

We often travel in Europe, or the UK, after a cruise and sometimes fly home on a different airline. As others have said you just have to do the research.

Also look at a RT to/from London and a one way Rome to London. Just take good notes!

Thank you all. I appreciate the info. I'm happy I like to do research as it sounds like that is the way to go. Flights aren't available yet but when they are it gives me plenty of time to play around with different scenarios.

Flights aren't available yet ...

It's good to be thinking early. One thing you can usefully do is to learn to use the various search tools, including the ones mentioned here, so that when you do start looking in earnest for your actual travel dates you aren't simultaneously climbing the learning curve about those websites.

 

Also remember that the lowest fares often aren't available when booking opens. What you're really looking for is a fare sale that covers your travel dates, and you can spend the time now trying to find out a bit about how the market works and whether/when you might see a sale that would suit you.

Book as 1 Multi-City ticket. You must research as a multi-city, too, because unlike domestic tickets, a one way intl fare could cost more than the whole multi-city ticket. Princess EZ-Air will likely offer good pricing for a multi-city, and it's easy to use because you can book a flex fare that allows for price drops and cancellation up until 45 days before departure. You can also check discount airlines like Condor that actually do offer one way tickets to/from Europe without penalizing you.

 

 

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I would also be willing to alter your arrival and departure by a day or two. Even with an extra hotel night or two, it can sometimes be still a lower net cost to arrive a day earlier and stay a day later. Personally I would not even consider flying in and out of either of those cities without tacking on a couple of days (or more) to stay and savor.

I would also be willing to alter your arrival and departure by a day or two. Even with an extra hotel night or two, it can sometimes be still a lower net cost to arrive a day earlier and stay a day later. Personally I would not even consider flying in and out of either of those cities without tacking on a couple of days (or more) to stay and savor.

 

We are plannng in staying in Rome for a couple of days post cruise. We are only planning on flying into London a day early. Airfare is so confusing.

We are plannng in staying in Rome for a couple of days post cruise. We are only planning on flying into London a day early. Airfare is so confusing.

Specifically, what is so confusing? Makes it tough to provide assistance without specifics.

 

But, it was merely venting....

Airfare is so confusing.

 

What do you find confusing? If you'll be more specific, people here can help. It sounds like your travel dates are somewhat flexible which makes it a bit easier to find flights that suit you. Flexible dates also means you can make time to get to or from a city other than the one you fly into or out of, which makes it bit easier to find flights that suit you. It turn, this means you have a lot of options to consider but don't look at that as "confusing," which I'm guessing you were. It just takes some time to weed through the options to find the flights that best fit your needs.

Skyscanner.com is a good site for finding flights in Europe. Don't neglect the smaller airlines which can provide some really inexpensive and direct flights.

Use skyscanner to see what's available, but please book directly through the airline's own webpage.

Skyscanner.com is a good site for finding flights in Europe. Don't neglect the smaller airlines which can provide some really inexpensive and direct flights.

 

be careful as they often have very limited and very restrictive luggage policies (including hand luggage weights!). What you save in the price of a ticket you could more than pay in fees for a much less comfortable seat.

Most of our trips are open jaw, many are one way.

 

We sometimes fly into a city that was not our actual destination because the fare is low AND we have reasonable options,fly or train, to get to our destination. We do the same on the way back.

Lot's of great discount airline options once you are there. On very competitive runs with discounters it is often possible to get a bags included flight on a major for the same price. You do however have to watch what airports they fly into and what the baggage rules/costs are.