Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM
Operated by the European Travel
Network,
www.discountairfares.com
is a great online source for regular and dis-
counted airfares to destinations around the world. You can also use this site to
compare rates and book accommodations, car rentals, and tours. Click on
“Special Offers” for the latest package deals.
British newspapers are always full of classified ads touting slashed fares to Italy.
One good source is
Time Out.
London's
Evening Standard
has a daily travel sec-
tion, and the Sunday editions of almost any newspaper will run many ads.
Although competition is fierce, one well-recommended company that consoli-
dates bulk ticket purchases and then passes the savings on to its consumers is
Trailfinders
(
%
0845/058-5858; www.trailfinders.com).
It offers access to tickets
on such carriers as SAS, British Airways, and KLM.
Both
British Airways
(
%
0870/850-9850 in the U.K.; www.britishairways.
co.uk)
and
Alitalia
(
%
0870/544-8259; www.alitalia.it)
have frequent flights
from London's Heathrow to Rome, Milan, Venice, Pisa (the gateway to Florence),
and Naples. Flying time from London to these cities is from 2 to 3 hours. British
Airways also has one direct flight a day from Manchester to Rome.
GETTING A GOOD DEAL
The dirty little secret about flights to Italy (or most anywhere for that matter) is
that passengers sharing the same airplane cabin rarely pay the same fare. Travelers
who need to purchase tickets at the last minute, change their itinerary at a
moment's notice, or fly one-way often get stuck paying the premium rate. And
sometimes passengers who are simply unlucky also pay more than the fellow in
the next seat: There's little logic to airfares. Here are some ways to keep your air-
fare costs down:
u
Fly in the low season.
June to September is high season for flights, with
prices more than doubling over winter fares, often going well over $1,000 for
a round-trip from New York to Rome.
u
Passengers who
fly midweek
or during less-trafficked hours may pay a frac-
tion of the full fare. If your schedule is flexible, say so, and ask if you can
secure a cheaper fare by changing your flight plans.
u
Search the Internet
for cheap fares (see “Surfing for Airfares,” below). Sales
tend to begin on Wednesdays, so that can be a good day of the week to
search. Additionally, American travelers can sometimes get a slightly better
deal by booking airfare at around 2am (Eastern Standard Time). Why? Fares
are based on a complex logarithm of supply-and-demand, and at midnight
all unpaid-for bookings are flushed from the airlines' computers, leading to
a steep, though brief, drop in demand.
u
Keep an eye on local newspapers
for promotional specials or fare wars,
when airlines lower prices on their most popular routes. You'll rarely see fare
wars offered for peak travel times, but if you can travel in the off months,
you may snag a bargain.
u
Look beyond the usual suspects for inexpensive flights. A new airline called
Eurofly now offers low-cost fares from the U.S. to Milan and other northern
Italian cities. KLM is also another airline to check when looking for airfares.
