ktlep

I am planning to travel from Chicago O'Hare to Marco Polo in Venice this May and was wondering what the best airline to fly was and how long of a layover I need/where I should layover.

I have looked into Lufthansa with a 1 hr 10 min layover in Frankfurt, Germany and KLM with a 2 hr 5 min layover in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

This will be my first international flight (I am also flying alone).

Any advice would be great!

FFMilesJunkie

First of all, Lufthansa is one of the safest airlines in the world. Don't let today's tragedy put you off of Lufthansa.

Since this is your first international flight, then I would also look at US Airways non-stop from Philadelphia. That way you are connecting in the US and not having to navigate what can be a confusing connection to the novice flyer.

If you are up for the challenge and you decide to fly via Europe, then I would give yourself a minimum 2 hour layover. A lot of frequent fliers have no problems making tight connections since we normally can take advantage of "fast track" facilities, or we just have the connection route down to a science. We sometimes forget how daunting it can be to the novice flyer. Some of the international airports have very nice shopping and dining options, so a long layover can be fun and actually go by quickly. So, if you go via Europe, give yourself some extra time and enjoy a less stressful connection.

As for airline, you cannot go wrong with Lufthansa or KLM. Both are excellent airlines and Frankfurt/Munich/Amsterdam are all nice connection points.

mickeydfly13

I'd say that Frankfurt can be a messy airport for even seasoned travelers. Munich is much better if flying Lufthansa.

obscure2k

Welcome to Flyertalk ktlep. I am going to move your thread to the Italy Forum, where there is often useful discussion re: Venice.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

obscure2k

I just did a quick search and it appears that Swiss has a nice non-flight to Zurich from ORD and a decent connection to VCE. ZRH not as difficult as FRA or CDG. I have found AMS to be relatively easy. Have connected there several times en route to VCE.
Good luck and have fun. I love VCE

JMN57

I'd second the xfer in PHL on US.

IMO, I would much rather do the transfer on this side of the pond and arrive at my destination rather than do the redeye and then have to navigate a xfer and do another flight to finally arrive.

My only caveat to that would be if one took a day flight (e.g. ORD-LHR) and then connected. Problem with that is the cxn is the next day necessitating an overnight in LHR. If you want/need a day in London, this is a good way to do it. Otherwise, it is inefficient.

ktlep

I've been looking at a Delta flight ORD - JFK with a two hour layover and I think that will be my choice!

Thanks for all of your input!

PWMTrav

A really good option for you would be to fly ORD-FCO direct (I believe American serves this route) and then take a train from the airport to Venice. That flight arrives at 9:20am, and the Frecciargento leaves FCO a little after 11am. It is a direct train to Venice.

This eliminates a plane connection at all, in favor of a very comfortable train that will take you all the way onto Venice proper - meaning you also don't need to get off at VCE and transfer over the water to get where you're going.

The Fiumicino-Venezia Santa Lucia service is relatively new. It's timed well for TATL arrivals, though. That'd be the way I go assuming the direct flight is affordable (on miles or points).

slawecki

avoid FRA. terrible airport. i think customs/imigration at ORD is better than jfk, although i have avoided jfk for about last 20 years.