airfaires to Venice

[mom kaplan]

Has anyone found a "less expensive" ("cheap" isn't possible I know) way to fly to Venice? I understand that sometimes you can fly to another, less expensive, European city and then take a smaller plane, or possibly a train, to Venice. The airfare I've found is more expensive than the 7 day cruise itself. There are 4 adults in our party. I'd appreciate any information you can offer. Thanks!

[Cruise Junky]

Have you looked into flying into London and then Easyjet to Venice?

[Love 2 Travel]

try aer lingus

we got a great fare venice to dublin to jfk

go directly to the aer lingus site for best fares. also, flying mid week will give you the best rates. we even got great one way fares.

good luck

[Mond]

You didn't indicate where you are flying from but you might try Continental to Milan. Depending on the day you travel, they have a +/-$700 rt fare from Newark (EWR) to Malpensa (MXP)

[mozfoz]

We booked Lufthansa, PHL to VCE, for 5/07 at $757. Coulld have booked for $676 with and additional stop.

[mom kaplan]

Thanks for the tips. We're flying out of Baltimore, MD but we're not opposed to driving to Philly.

After the last cruise we had a flight from San Juan to Philly and then changed planes only to sit on a runway for over an hour, with minimal air conditioning, for our 20 minute flight to Baltimore. My family agreed it would have been better to just drive the couple of hours back from Philly.

[wwinfl91]

One thing to be careful of if you decide to fly to another European airport and then want to fly on to Venice is some of the lower priced European airlines have different luggage weight rules and carry on rules than we are used to in the US (read that as less weight and fewer pieces of luggage). Just be sure to check before you reserve. You can usually take more but you will pay extra for it.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[bappo]

Hi! We're flying Delta multi city from PHL to JFK, then non-stop JFK to Venice in November, then from Vienna our final destination to PHL for $654.00. Try 1800flyeurope.com,they have really great fares. have a great time!

 

Barb

[nco4242]

I am flying SFO-Venice and Rome-SFO for 1001 Eco-Plus for 1001.

Fares are cheaper east coast sometimes if your on west coast you can get better fares from LAX.

What I usally do is go to Kayak and check fares from Lax\SFO and Oakland

then I have a ball park idea of what I should be looking for. Also Best Fares sometimes has great deals especially if your on east coast.

Bottom line is it all boils down to if they fly when you more or less want to, at the time you more or less want and how long they take, as above my flight is 14 hours. I could have saved $100 if I wanted two stops and taken 18 hours.

Each person knows their limits.............

Of course with yesterdays happenings fares may drop which would be just my luck <G>

[Mijuraad]

HI,

With the new security rules, this horror tale will probably sound like more like a cakewalk, but if it can help you avoid getting stuck, I'll pass it on.

 

Our experience with Delta flying from Philly to JFK and then on to Rome was the worst of our flying lives.:eek:

 

We sat in a "puddle jumper" on the PHL runway for two hours only to be told that the "luggage had to be balanced" so that the plane could take off. Then we were transferred to a different shuttle. By the time we arrived at JFK, our flight to Rome had left. We had to fly to Madrid and then on to Rome the next morning.:(

 

You're probably not surprised to know that when we finally got to Rome, we learned that our luggage "somehow" had been lost. Three days later, our luggage was delivered to our Rome hotel, locks broken beyond repair.:rolleyes:

 

We have had other bad experiences with short flights out of Phila. This year, we have booked a direct flight to Venice on USAirways from Phila., and are hoping that the direct flight, though possibly delayed, will eventually arrive with our luggage and us on board. :D

[sammiedawg]

Check total flight times before you book a bargain flight. Some of the itineraries are ridiculous and you're traveling over 20 hours. We like to get good deals but we're wary of the hop skip jump hurry up and wait itineraries.

[Desert Cruisers]

If you live in Maryland, why not also look at flying out of Washington? There may be more international flights out of Dulles than Philadelphia. :)

[bappo]

Mijuraad, We could be taking that same puddle jumper from Phl to JFK in November. We have a 3 hr layover in JFK before flight leaves for Venice. I am travelling with my 82yr. old mother in law, and 3 others. I am now wondering since we have family in NYC would it be better to stay with family and miss the flight from PHL altogether, so we won't experience the same problems you did. Hopefully, it was a one time thing, but will run it by the rest of my party, and try to come to a decision. Thanks.

 

Barb

[keltic]

From Madrid and Barcelona we have low costs. Either Myair or Vueling fly to Venice. From the UK Ryanair to Venice-Treviso (close to Venice) is another cheap option.

[Mijuraad]

Hi Bappo,

 

I would definitely try to avoid layovers, especially with an older traveler. If you can fly directly by using JFK, do it. My children live in New York state, and they rarely have the delay problems at JFK that we have in Phila.

 

I think the problem is that there aren't enough runways in Phila. The authorities won't admit this and use a variety of tall tales to placate the passengers. Delays are bad enough, but if you need to transfer to another flight, be careful.

 

We've seen delays mostly with short flights on small planes such as when getting back and forth to Florida. Once we were informed by the airline that major storms were occurring in Phila., thus causing a flight delay. At that moment, we were watching TV weather reports which showed fair weather in Phila. Another time, we were told that the door had fallen off the plane...and they needed to wait for another plane. It seems that the first glib answer that falls from the tongues of airport personnel is the only excuse they need to give to passengers. But, in our travels, we have experienced too many problems stemming from runway traffic in Phila.

 

Hope you have a great vacation and skip all the aggravating stuff!

 

Mijura a.k.a. Barbara

[bappo]

Mijuraad,

 

hi! I have been watching that Delta flight we are supposed to take from Philadelphia to JFk for the past 10 days, and not one day has it left JFK on time. In fact, yesterday the flight left at 9:50PM when it was supposed to leave at 3:10 PM. So, we are thinking about missing that flight altogether and looking for some alternate transport from Phila., to JFK. Two Questions for you, should we call delta and tell them we are not coming, and do you you have any suggestion on alternate forms of transportation? Thanks.

 

Barb

[drwong]

Switching airlines may also involve switching terminals and going through a second set of security checkpoints, which may include re-checking all your luggage with the new airline AND its lowered baggage allowances (inter-European flights allow only very small suitcases, and most cruisers can't pack lightly for some bizarre reason).

 

And you better hope and pray you don't miss a connection or a suitcase, because YOU'RE responsible for seeing that you and your suitcase meet the ship if you've booked this chain of flights trying to save a few bucks!

 

VCE is expensive because of simple free-market economics. It's heavily used by tourists (high demand), and there are only a few arrivals and departures a day by international carriers (limited supply), so the lack of available seats serves to jack up the prices. Sorry to hear you're in such a bind - if I were you, I'd let the cruise line book the air, and let THEM be responsible for ensuring that your party and all their suitcases makes it aboard the ship!

[wrp96]

Mijuraad,

 

hi! I have been watching that Delta flight we are supposed to take from Philadelphia to JFk for the past 10 days, and not one day has it left JFK on time. In fact, yesterday the flight left at 9:50PM when it was supposed to leave at 3:10 PM. So, we are thinking about missing that flight altogether and looking for some alternate transport from Phila., to JFK. Two Questions for you, should we call delta and tell them we are not coming, and do you you have any suggestion on alternate forms of transportation? Thanks.

 

Barb

 

Were your flights all booked as one ticket? Or did you pay for them separately? If you booked them together, then if you miss the first flight (Philly to JFK) then you will be considered a no-show for the flight and won't be allowed to board any of the later flights, including your return flights.

[bappo]

Thank-you all for your help. To answer your question, yes the flights we booked were all on one ticket. I called Delta yesterday, and spoke with them about the possibility of changing our flights. we can do it, but at an additional $250 per ticket, I think that is a last resort for us if the flight doesn't continue to leave on time. The representative told me to continue to track the departure and arrival times for the flight, the day before call Delta and if the flight continues to be departing late. tell them we will miss our international flight which leaves at 6:50 PM also on Delta. Let them know that you have been tracking the flight and if they check the flight history, they will see that this flight has a problem getting to JFK on time. Her supervisor felt that this might encourage them to put us on the `10:45 AM flight which always seem to leave on time, if not, the day of the flight go to the airport early, check at the ticket counter and show them the flights history, they should if seats are available, put us on that earlier plane. We have no problem waiting at the airport for the extra time, as long as we do not miss the international connection. The rep. did give us an alternative, which was JFK to Rome, then Rome to Venice, leaving the next day, and in fact offered to put us on some sort of back up list, if the puddle jumper from Phila., doesn't get us to JFK on time. This could all be lip service but it did appear to me that Delta was trying to work with us. So for now, we will take a wait and watch attitude. Thanks everybody.

 

Barb

[drwong]

Be grateful you're on a single ticket. Trying to book two unconnected flights with two different airlines in order to save a few bucks can cause more trouble than it's worth. I participate on another forum dealing with air travellers, and I've been reading about the saga of somebody who did just that - they booked their own separate air flights on two different airlines because it was cheaper than booking a thru-ticket with a single carrier.

 

As luck would have it, although they made their connecting flight to Europe, their luggage missed the domestic connection, so they arrived in Europe several suitcases short. They had to rush to another terminal to connect to their intra-European flight, but because nobody stayed behind to physically transfer their luggage from one airline's terminal to the other (the two airlines were not part of a StarAlliance or SkyAlliance-type partnership, no neither airline bore any responsibility beyond what was printed in the contract of carriage), their suitcases sat in the unclaimed baggage bin of airline #1 for the entire duration of their cruise! And of course, reaching the baggage claim desk at an airport while you're aboard a ship and trying to tell them where to send the baggage and on what day and to what port was something the carrier wouldn't guarantee.

 

They also didn't buy travel insurance in order to save money, so the costs of replacing their clothing on the cruise and making the arrangements to have their luggage shipped back to the states (they were flying home out of another airport) was entirely out of their own pocket. And all because they wanted to save a few bucks.

[lvtotrvl1]

For European flights I would recommend calling a travel agent to check the consolidators. I have found extremely low cost fares for my clients cruising in Europe. Most times a consolidator can beat any published air price you can find. I just booked a Houston to Venice one way in October for 350.00.....almost 700 lower than anywhere else.

[Mijuraad]

Hi Barb,

Glad to hear you've been in touch with Delta and are tracking the flights from Phila. to JFK. If you can get onto the 10:45 a.m. flight, would you still have to pay the $250 deviation penalty?

 

I think your best bet is either to keep on nagging Delta, or speak to a neighborhood travel agent and see if they can take over the flight arrangements for, perhaps, a small percentage of the penalty. It couldn't hurt to discuss the problem with a travel agent.

 

It's criminal that Delta has been getting away with being late for such a long time (maybe 3 yrs.) with the shuttle to JFK.

 

Barbara

[bappo]

Hi, Barbara. This Delta thing has me concerned. Still tracking it and for the passed three days it has not left on time. We will be travelling after the Thanksgiving weekend, on Monday, and we both know that it could be problematic. To answer your question. if I wait until the day of the flight and present my tracking information, the representative felt that they would if space was still available put us on the earlier flight with no penalty, but its anyone's guess if she is correct. Some friends have had good luck with writing to Delta about plane delays, and in some instances they have had their flights changed with no penalty. Today I sent an e-mail to Delta, will keep you posted as to the outcome.

 

Barb

[bappo]

Wanted to let everyone know that after 1 and 1/2 months of tracking the flight from Philly to JFK, and the flight never leaving on time, Delta as of yesterday switched us to the earlier flight, Free of Charge. Thanks to Mijuraad, another Philadelphian, for letting me know about her problems with this flight from Philly or we would have missed our connecting to Venice. Today I will go to the airport and get reticketed. Thanks to all.

 

Barb

[cusyl]

We flew nonstop from JFK to VCE on Delta, we didn't want the hassel of changing planes or airlines in a foreign country.