I am flying to Rome mid-March 11-18 and the more stories I hear about airport changes and lost luggage the more I am thinking of taking a direct flight. I am in DC and could easily do a direct flight from another city if necessary and if the price is right. For example PHL, NYC, etc. I notice prices now for the time I want seem to be in $600 to $700 , $800 range now. I am looking for recommendations on the best airline/service/etc to take and city to fly from from your experince.

I am flying to Rome mid-March 11-18 and the more stories I hear about airport changes and lost luggage the more I am thinking of taking a direct flight. I am in DC and could easily do a direct flight from another city if necessary and if the price is right. For example PHL, NYC, etc. I notice prices now for the time I want seem to be in $600 to $700 , $800 range now. I am looking for recommendations on the best airline/service/etc to take and city to fly from from your experince.


I don't find it "easy" to fly out of either NYC or PHL from DC. to phl, it is a 2 hr drive(better leave 4 hrs if driving up I95) the drive back after the transatlantic is about a million miles. double all that for ewr, and triple it for jfk. doing train and cab is equally painfull with cab transfers.

Luggage loss is not very frequent. I am probably a typical traveler, and have never had luggage lost. Had it delayed into ASP, LHR(took 3 days),blq(2x because of 45 min transfer),moscow(took 2 days) in the past 15 years.

Aspen was the biggest problem as the luggage had our ski boots.

I think the loss ratio is probably greatly reduced if you stay on the same airline.


If there are things you must have, mail them air pp to italy is $30 for 5 lbs.

any advice from others who have done this trip?



I don't find it "easy" to fly out of either NYC or PHL from DC. to phl, it is a 2 hr drive(better leave 4 hrs if driving up I95) the drive back after the transatlantic is about a million miles. double all that for ewr, and triple it for jfk. doing train and cab is equally painfull with cab transfers.

Luggage loss is not very frequent. I am probably a typical traveler, and have never had luggage lost. Had it delayed into ASP, LHR(took 3 days),blq(2x because of 45 min transfer),moscow(took 2 days) in the past 15 years.

Aspen was the biggest problem as the luggage had our ski boots.

I think the loss ratio is probably greatly reduced if you stay on the same airline.


If there are things you must have, mail them air pp to italy is $30 for 5 lbs.

I've done it connecting through PHL (UA -> US) and had no checked bag problems. We were in Business Class.

At the prices you quote, you're looking at coach fares. So the question is, which airline has the best coach?

You'd do best to cross the Atlantic in UA's coach (and secure Economy+ through status or buy-up) but get the E+ at time of booking! Then connect on LH from, say, MUC.

We flew into Rome in August through Munich on LH and it took over 2 hours to receive most of our bags. I say most since I never received my bag until the next day.

We flew into Rome in August through Munich on LH and it took over 2 hours to receive most of our bags. I say most since I never received my bag until the next day.


Baggage at FCO is probably handled by local staff, so 2 hrs is probably a local issue. sounds like a union slowdown to me.

The next day is most likely an LH issue. LH with the 45-60 min or so transfers at both FRA and MUC off of wide bodies, a lot of bags miss the continuing flight.

The average for baggage "inconvenience" is about 6.5 reports per 1,000 passengers. Check in early, assure sufficient time between connections, mark your bag(s) prominently, keep a description (I actualy use a digital photo on my camera's memory card to show baggage personnel) in case you needd to fill out a missing baggage report, include identifying information outside (and I highly recommend identifying data and an itinerary inside in case the tags are torn off by airport machinery or...) don't pack anything very valuable and avoid packing anything that might set of a scanner at your departure point (fruitcake, semi-solids like soap, chocolate, etc. in sizes that might resemble a packet of explosives,) secure the baggage with TSA-approved locks and you should better those odds.

secure the baggage with TSA-approved locks and you should better those odds.

Who sells these at a low, low price??

Who sells these at a low, low price??
Not sure how much you want to pay but found these:
The locks are priced at $19.85 for a pair and are available through Magellan's.

http://www.safeskieslocks.com/
$7.99 ea or $2@ $14.99

http://www.travelsentry.org/


Brookstone sells the larger combination locks for $20 a pair.



http://www.amazon.com
(under Apparel) Price: $7.75 ex

Target has a few hanging on the hooks to pick from. I recall that they weren't THAT overpriced.

The average for baggage "inconvenience" is about 6.5 reports per 1,000 passengers. Check in early, assure sufficient time between connections, mark your bag(s) prominently, keep a description (I actualy use a digital photo on my camera's memory card to show baggage personnel) in case you needd to fill out a missing baggage report, include identifying information outside (and I highly recommend identifying data and an itinerary inside in case the tags are torn off by airport machinery or...) don't pack anything very valuable and avoid packing anything that might set of a scanner at your departure point (fruitcake, semi-solids like soap, chocolate, etc. in sizes that might resemble a packet of explosives,) secure the baggage with TSA-approved locks and you should better those odds.

Great tips, especially the photo idea. ^

Just make sure that you are not flying Alitalia. They are horrible when it comes to handleing bags. A couple of months ago I was flying EWR-FCO-TLV and on the TLV end we found out that they 'forgot' to load any bags onto the aircraft. I don't think that you will have problems from any bags that leave on a US flight, but watch out when leaving FCO. And be sure to pack an extra shirt and boxers.

TLVorbust - I heard a lot of negative comments about Alitalia so I have decided to stay away from them. A direct flight from the USA to Rome should hopefully not be an issue for my luggage ...lost or delayed... (I hope anyway).

I do plan to fly coach & direct.

roberto99 said I should try to find which airline has the best coach. So if anyone has any feedback on that I'd appreciate it.

Noticed that USAirways prices have really jumped since yesterday and Air France is having a sale that ends Oct 3rd.


TLVorbust - I heard a lot of negative comments about Alitalia so I have decided to stay away from them. A direct flight from the USA to Rome should hopefully not be an issue for my luggage ...lost or delayed... (I hope anyway).

I do plan to fly coach & direct.

roberto99 said I should try to find which airline has the best coach. So if anyone has any feedback on that I'd appreciate it.

TLVorbust - I heard a lot of negative comments about Alitalia so I have decided to stay away from them. A direct flight from the USA to Rome should hopefully not be an issue for my luggage ...lost or delayed... (I hope anyway).

I do plan to fly coach & direct.

roberto99 said I should try to find which airline has the best coach. So if anyone has any feedback on that I'd appreciate it.

I posted above: "You'd do best to cross the Atlantic in UA's coach (and secure Economy+ through status or buy-up) but get the E+ at time of booking! Then connect on LH from, say, MUC."

UA's coach beats the rest if you book Economy Plus since you are assured an extra 4-5 inches of legroom.

But, UA doesn't fly to FCO in the last 10 years or so. So that would mean a connection somewhere in Europe.

BTW, airlines use the term "direct" to mean one stop service. they even stretch this to mean a connection with the same flight number on twt very different planes.

OP, I suspect that you wanted "non-stop" service to FCO from somewhere in the USA. that narrows the choices to perhaps AZ (ick), US, DL, and AA. And they ALL have very nasty coach seating!

thanks roberto99
you are correct I was referring to direct from a USA airport.
Trying not to connect in Europe.

Rome: How difficult/easy would it be to book, then try to upgrade to Business Class on USAir if I bought an economy ticket? This is where I have the most points OR can I use Star Alliance as a vehicle to use my USAir points to upgrade on another airline? I have never used points to upgrade before. Just wondering.

Rome: How difficult/easy would it be to book, then try to upgrade to Business Class on USAir if I bought an economy ticket? This is where I have the most points OR can I use Star Alliance as a vehicle to use my USAir points to upgrade on another airline? I have never used points to upgrade before. Just wondering.
To be honest this sounds more like a USAir question than a Rome question, you might get a better response over in their forum:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=612

I don't think you can use USAir points for a *A upgrade yet though.

US has the best AVOD going to FCO on a direct flight from the US. There's tons of movies, television, games, etc. for you to watch, rewind, stop, return to as you like. Nobody beats US IFE on the 330.

While the front of the Y cabin on the 330 isn't as roomy as UA E+, it is better than the back of the 330 and other non-E+ Y cabins. It's a good compromise. And the AVOD will keep you occupied for the entire flight if you can't sleep.

If you have *A status from US, you can access the Envoy departure lounge, which many/most would say is one of the best int'l departure lounges around.

What do you think $728
DCA-EWR-FCO (DIRECT FROM USA)

(EWR direct to FCO..which+hopefully no less of a chance for luggage woes).

I have seen some good reviews on Continetal's flights to FCO.

With this combo the last few weeks I have seen Continental's website fare go from $821 to $728. All other sites for the same DCA-EWR-FCO are higher.

Any comments on this fare.
Any comments on Continental?

What do you think $728
DCA-EWR-FCO (DIRECT FROM USA)The fare is good.