Connections from Atlanta to Europe

I am once again, knee deep in trying to find the best airfare that works for our family for an upcoming cruise this summer. Batting around two itineraries as of right now...final decision will be largely based on finding airfare for the 4 of us that is fairly reasonable. We are coming from Atlanta. Both itineraries start in Rome. One ends in Rome, the other Venice. That said, I do have a couple of questions:

1. Historically, in general, are airfares cheaper to fly from the states to Rome or Milan? We want to see Florence pre-cruise, so flying into Milan can be an option for us. I'm assuming we will do a connection of some sort, usually I prefer a connecting flight in Europe somewhere (if something happens to the connection, there are other readily available connections vs. being stuck in the states waiting for the next transatlantic flight which could be the next day).

2. Looking at EasyJet for our connection in Europe. I don't generally see EasyJet as a connection option when using airfare search engines (Matrix). Any tips for trying to patch airfare together this way?

3. Coming direct from Atlanta, what would be the best place to try to connect in Europe to use EasyJet to give us the best options/price?

Thanks - trying to navigate this as we've only been overseas twice and are novices at this still. I'm not a fan of the cruise air, would prefer to handle this ourselves.

It has been widely discussed here Milan is a cheap alternative to flying into Rome or Venice. You do have to weight the additional train fares, and the time involved getting to your final destination by train. You might want to look into flying to Milan from the US, and avoiding the EasyJet complication. I think one or two airlines fly from the East Coast to Milan. United is adding that flight from Newark for this summer.

I believe EasyJet, like other discount airlines, doesn't appear on Matrix. You would need to work on their website.

Edit: United is the only one flying from EWR. Delta/Alitalia code share two flights from JFK.

1. Perhaps FCO, but there have been great fares to MIL for certain time periods the last couple years, though not during the summer. It's easy to get to Florence from Rome.

2. I wouldn't try and cobble together air for this routing. Protect your connections and keep your baggage allowance by purchasing one ticket. Don't think you will find significant savings buying two separate tickets.

3. Don't know; you can search and find this out. Again, suggest you probably not consider this option. Check carefully the exact airport you be arriving/departing from if you take Easyjet.

1. Perhaps FCO, but there have been great fares to MIL for certain time periods the last couple years, though not during the summer. It's easy to get to Florence from Rome.

 

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Milan is MXL.

Milan is MXL.

I love CC. MIL is a generic designation that covers all Milan area airports.

Actually, Milan Malpensa is MXP. The other airport, Milan Linate, is LIN. I've never seen "MIL", but not to say it isn't there.

Emirates has some good pricing JFK-MXP. Just got an email for a Spring sale for $799.

If you look at EasyJet, be sure you know exactly what you can/can't take as luggage/carryon. Be sure to factor that into any costs.

2. I wouldn't try and cobble together air for this routing. Protect your connections and keep your baggage allowance by purchasing one ticket. Don't think you will find significant savings buying two separate tickets.

1. Perhaps FCO, but there have been great fares to MIL for certain time periods the last couple years, though not during the summer. It's easy to get to Florence from Rome.

Milan is MXL.

I love CC. MIL is a generic designation that covers all Milan area airports.

MXL airport is at Mexicali (in Mexico).

Yep, typo on my part. Funny because I used MXP to do the research I posted in Post #2, then screwed it up in Post #4:mad:

...bit slow to respond...

I believe EasyJet, like other discount airlines, doesn't appear on Matrix. You would need to work on their website.

This is true, just like Southwest. You can try easyjet dot com

Unless things have changed sine 2005, when we used them, their prices tend to increase the closer you get to your date.

Steve

.Search engines like ITA Matrix will happily accept MIL as a search point and return results for both of the main airports for Milan, which are Linate (LIN) and Malpensa (MXP).

It's the same as entering "NYC" if you want a quick way to search all NYC area airports. Or, you can look them up, one at a time.

I am once again, knee deep in trying to find the best airfare that works for our family for an upcoming cruise this summer. Batting around two itineraries as of right now...final decision will be largely based on finding airfare for the 4 of us that is fairly reasonable. We are coming from Atlanta. Both itineraries start in Rome. One ends in Rome, the other Venice. That said, I do have a couple of questions:

 

1. Historically, in general, are airfares cheaper to fly from the states to Rome or Milan? We want to see Florence pre-cruise, so flying into Milan can be an option for us. I'm assuming we will do a connection of some sort, usually I prefer a connecting flight in Europe somewhere (if something happens to the connection, there are other readily available connections vs. being stuck in the states waiting for the next transatlantic flight which could be the next day).

 

2. Looking at EasyJet for our connection in Europe. I don't generally see EasyJet as a connection option when using airfare search engines (Matrix). Any tips for trying to patch airfare together this way?

 

3. Coming direct from Atlanta, what would be the best place to try to connect in Europe to use EasyJet to give us the best options/price?

 

Thanks - trying to navigate this as we've only been overseas twice and are novices at this still. I'm not a fan of the cruise air, would prefer to handle this ourselves.

As you are looking at 2015, there's really no need/benefit to looking at historical trends - you can search your dates now. What dates are you looking at?

I wouldn't be bothering with splitting the connection - I doubt you'd save a significant amount of money, and you wouldn't be protected in case of misconnect if you were on two separate tickets.

Train travel is so easy in Italy that I would be searching Rome, Milan and Venice for airfare, and everything in between - Pisa, Bologna, etc.

Do a LOT of research before booking anything on EasyJet.

The train idea, if necessary, is the best.

How much is the hassle of using any mainline carrier and Easy Jet worth to you? Unless the financial differential ran into the many hundreds I wouldn't even consider it...not for four traveling together. In the major cities they could be terminals, or even airports apart.

The train from Venice to Malpensa can be done on a number of different local and fast trains with varying prices to match. The ride is actually quite interesting. Haven't done it to Florence but there is now a train station at Malpensa which makes land travel so much easier.

Seemingly your theory about more connections in Europe has some merit except that full flights in the height of tourist season are still full flights and there is no guarantee that space for four, traveling together, would be readily available.

There are also other low cost airlines in Europe that you may want to look at. It will just depend on your first destination in Europe.

Good luck!

We are coming from Atlanta. Both itineraries start in Rome. One ends in Rome, the other Venice. That said, I do have a couple of questions:

 

1. Historically, in general, are airfares cheaper to fly from the states to Rome or Milan? We want to see Florence pre-cruise, so flying into Milan can be an option for us. I'm assuming we will do a connection of some sort

 

Train travel is relatively easy in Italy. You could do a nonstop on Delta from ATL to Rome and take the train to Florence and back. Alnternatively, fly into Venice, take the train to Florence, then another to Rome to start the cruise. You can return home nonstop on Delta from either Rome or Venice.

 

2. Looking at EasyJet for our connection in Europe. I don't generally see EasyJet as a connection option when using airfare search engines (Matrix). Any tips for trying to patch airfare together this way?

 

Echoing others... don't split your itinerary into separate plane tickets. If your incoming flight is late and you miss your Easy Jet flight, it will be a case of "too bad, so sad." Easy Jet won't care that the reason you missed the flight is because another didn't get you there in time.

 

3. Coming direct from Atlanta, what would be the best place to try to connect in Europe to use EasyJet to give us the best options/price?

 

See above. Coming from ATL I'd take a nonstop to Rome or Venice and then the train. And the train won't limit your baggage like Easy Jet will. (It will just be up to you how much you feel comfortable with, schlepping it on and off the train, lol)

As waterbug mentioned, baggage is another reason not to split your ticket onto a low-cost carrier like Easyjet. Flights to/from Europe usually allow 1 checked bag and 2 carry-on pieces (but check carefully). Connecting flights on either the US or Europe end will have the same transatlantic allowance if everything is on the same ticket.

A flight in Europe on a separate ticket will be more restrictive and carry some pretty steep fees, especially on budget carriers like Easyjet. You can easily spend an extra $100+ for a checked bag and your carry-ons. Regardless of airline, be aware that flights within Europe tend to go more by weight instead of number of bags....and weight allowance for carry-ons is often low- 8kg or so.

And the train won't limit your baggage like Easy Jet will. (It will just be up to you how much you feel comfortable with, schlepping it on and off the train, lol)

__________________

The First Class is best with luggage, & not very much more expensive than 2nd.

I use easyjet at least 2 times a month & for a low cost airline they are pretty good. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time in-between flights & check which London airport you will fly in from the States.

easyJet does show up on Expedia, I happen to know that. And as far as baggage goes, easyJet gives you options for baggage - you can purchase anything up to 32kg/70lb. I often get the Flexi fare which can be a pretty good deal depending on the route and how far ahead you book - includes an extra legroom or up front seat (with earlier boarding and a shorter check-in line) and 20kg of luggage.

I've flown easyJet several times in both Europe and North Africa and enjoyed them. Hopefully I'll have another nice and easy(Jet) trip next month when I go Manchester to Hamburg.

That being said, do be aware of the risks of booking separate tickets if you plan on connecting immediately.