One way to Barcellona

[cruiseron36]

Yes I did look at your dates, which is why I mentioned the MIA-MAD flight on 10/12 as being wide open for award seats. You leave on 10/12 and land in Europe the morning of 10/13. The AA flight to Madrid lands at 7:40 AM, you connect to a flight from Madrid to Pisa that leaves at 9:55 AM and arrives at noon. Catch the transfer bus from PSA to Florence (about an hour on the road) and you're sipping a Campari by 2.

 

I'm not suggesting you pay any attention to your Delta miles. Unlike Delta, AA offers one-way awards using AA or any of its partners. So you open an AA account, buy the miles, and then turn around and redeem them for a one-way ticket. If you want to ignore AA for the rest of time after that, go for it.

 

As for switching between LHR and LGW, it's a pain and an expensive one at that. Skip it.

 

Contrary to another post I undertand what you are saying. We fly out of Detroit, which is a delta hub. The AA prices are much more than Delta. I have not looked at Delta FF miles which I have. I will check into AA for a one way on FF miles.

 

Thank you for your input.

[cruiseron36]

There's no way of knowing what will happen in the future, or when.

 

If I were in your shoes, and I was trying to work out whether I was going to do a further cruise next year that would allow me to use the second half of a round-trip air ticket, I wouldn't personally be panicking to buy the air ticket right now. I think that the chances are that there will still be time before the air fare goes up significantly, particularly if I can build in a little flexibility around the exact dates of travel. But I would be fully alive to the risk that waiting to get my plans sorted out might cost me several hundred dollars per person in extra airfare. That's a risk I take all the time when my plans haven't yet crystallised.I don't know where you're flying from, but I've had a look at Delta fares to Florence from a random start point in the middle of the USA.

 

The problem is, as I suspected, a maximum stay restriction of three months. On the cheap fare that I can see, which is (for this randomly-chosen route) about $980, the stay restrictions are:-Here's what happens if you book a ticket for October out, November back; and then later you change the return half to April:-You can probably see the problem straight away. Once you change the return date for a date more than three months after your outbound date, you no longer comply with all the fare rules of your original fare. So you must be re-fared using the fares in effect on the date on which your ticket was originally issued. Because you're now staying for more than three months, the fare goes up to the ~$3,500 level you've seen (plus the change fee).

 

But you're not tied to Delta, are you? I can see fares as low as about $1,700 for an October out, March back trip on that randomly-chosen route. But it's difficult to do more without knowing exactly where you need to fly from and to.

 

Actually we woudf like to fly out of Detroit to Florence on the 13 October -and - if we do book a return trip the return would be late May 2012 and would prefer to fly back from Venice.

 

When I plugged this into the Delta fare schedule I came up with the same $1100 RT.

However, if your 3 month m,aximum stay prevails this would not work - it would be better to buy the $1100 and not use the return ticket - or - buy from a consolidator for $900 one way.

[alidor]

It is impossible for you to get an accurate fare that includes a May, 2012 return. The majority of the world's airlines don't publish routes and fares until 11 months out. You can estimate what it might be but you won't be able to check this out accurately until it's 11 months prior to your flight.

[Globaliser]

However, if your 3 month m,aximum stay prevails this would not work - it would be better to buy the $1100 and not use the return ticket - or - buy from a consolidator for $900 one way.

Or look for a round-trip ticket from an airline that does not have a 3-month max stay restriction, eg US Airways, which has just quoted me a fare of $1,320 for a return in April (as far out as I can get it to price).

[cruiseron36]

Or look for a round-trip ticket from an airline that does not have a 3-month max stay restriction, eg US Airways, which has just quoted me a fare of $1,320 for a return in April (as far out as I can get it to price).

 

I will try them - AA has nothing from Detroit to Florence.

[cruiseron36]

Or look for a round-trip ticket from an airline that does not have a 3-month max stay restriction, eg US Airways, which has just quoted me a fare of $1,320 for a return in April (as far out as I can get it to price).

 

I am getting $3000pp for US Airways from Detroit in October and return from Florence in April.

[greatam]

I will try them - AA has nothing from Detroit to Florence.

 

You are not understanding what Gardyloo is trying to say. You can get an AA ticket FROM Detroit to Florence on AA by BUYING the miles on their website.

 

The routing would be DTW to MIA (two AA nonstops per day on Oct. 12-one early, one maybe to late to connect to the MIA European flight and you MAY have to fly a one stopper to get to MIA). Then the routing to Europe/Italy that Gardyloo posted.

 

You will have to call AA and pay the phone fee because you are flying OneWorld partners. STILL a darn cheap way to get to your vacation.

[Globaliser]

I am getting $3000pp for US Airways from Detroit in October and return from Florence in April.

I thought you wanted to come back from Venice?

 

12OCT10 US3122 DTW-PHL 1145-1322

12OCT10 US700 PHL-FRA 1620-0610+1

13OCT10 US5874 (ops LH308) FRA-FLR 0755-0920

 

12APR11 US5717 (ops LH333) VCE-FRA 0650-0815

12APR11 US701 FRA-PHL 1110-1400

12APR11 US3172 PHL-DTW 1534-1722

 

$1158.00 + $162.90 = $1320.90 per person