Concerto

I think the reason that this hasn't sold like hot cakes is the issue of getting to Rome. For a start, there is much less choice of flights these days and unless you're coming from Milan you're going to have to spend the night at Fiumicino airport. Looking at hotels.com and at IHG, all I see are stupid prices, in the 300-400 Euro range. Whatever you do in Rome is going to cost good money. If you are two people and you opt to go downtown for a maybe cheaper hotel (but I wasn't seeing anything in Rome at what I could call reasonable prices, I saw only stupid prices) then you have a pretty expensive airport train journey to get there and back. The whole thing is simply uneconomical unless you really need to be there.

If you stay in the immediate vicinity of the airport, it's all stupid prices. Not so far from the airport are some small towns (3 - 5.5km away) and hotels there may offer more sensible pricing (but still far far too much for what they are). But you're still going to have quite an expense with taxis getting to and from the airport. My go-to at FCO airport has always been the Hampton by Hilton, but 400 Euros? No way. I looked at a lot of dates around late September and early October, and it's constant stupid prices. I would have thought by then that things would have calmed down a bit. Looking at this, it's no wonder Air BnB has taken off the way it has and become such a problem.

Have you got any ideas or solutions, especially about the hotel cost problem? The only one that I can come up with, which is not so great in truth, is to start in Milan with a night in a hotel and catch the first ITA flight in the morning from Milan LIN airport. the 07h00 flight would get you to Rome FCO for around 08h20, giving you 2 hours to make the connection to the Etihad flight which leaves at 10h20. It's a bit risky, but it's the only way to keep the costs down IMO (and I am living in French speaking Switzerland so it is quite easy to reach Milan with the train). But if you miss the flight because ITA is late, you are stuffed anyway.

DocStrangelove

It's probably true. I live in Tuscany, so quite easy to get to Fiumicino in less than 3 hours , and I just got a one-way ticket to AUH for 60 Eur early september. It's a real steal, but I agree with you, it would have been much much difficult if I did'n live reasonably near to the Airport.

Concerto

I asked about it over in the Destinations - Italy forum and one helpful poster offered this suggestion, in case it helps anybody:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35472395-post8.html

But I think that this makes or breaks this offer. Might be better once we are well out of the main tourist season.

ffgap

@Concerto I also noticed sky-high prices for chain hotels at FCO.

I don't know if that's an Option for you, but there are cheap flights to AUH from VIE as well as some airports in formerly Eastern Europe. One still may use this deal for the inbound flight, as AUH-FCO arrives in the morning and no overnight stay in Rome is needed.

MeltingAlf

This is the problem about doing this fare in summer — Italia is never great with accommodations. And it is never great with chain groups, so if you insist on doing it on a chain group you're pretty much stuffed no matter where you go in Italy.

I did a night in one of the hotels at Parco Leonardo for 70 euros, which is one stop away by train, and usually the hotels there are catered for guests getting to Fiumicino airport, so they tend to offer shuttle bus services for a few quid cheaper than the train. That's what I did anyway. I'm looking at dates in August and it seems like it's averaging 70-80 pounds.

Personally I think living too near to FCO doesn't really help — what I did for this fare was fly into Pisa from the UK in the morning, spend half a day around, and then take the train down into Roma Termini, and then taking the regional train to Parco Leonardo, have dinner somewhere in the mall (I had IKEA meatball cravings so that was what I settled on), and then go to sleep for the AUH leg the next day. From French-speaking CH your best options is a longer trek on the train or a flight direct to FCO, either of which isn't great IMHO.

Concerto

But surely the train between Parco Leonardo and FCO airport would cost something like just 2 Euros? Indeed, summer is not the time to do this and certainly, sticking to chain hotels is not necessarily the best thing to do.

From Switzerland, I would certainly fly GVA-FCO, or take the train to Milan and fly from LIN to FCO. From the Ruhrgebiet area in Germany the VFT bloggers suggested flying from Dortmund with Wizz Air. So I saw fares for €24.99 from DTM to FCO.

I wonder if the Etihad offer will continue through the Autumn into Winter ...

MeltingAlf

The train from Parco Leonardo to FCO attracts an airport premium/access fare thing so it's actually 10 quid or so to get in. A bit like the premium on the Elizabeth Line just for Heathrow access - it's a lot cheaper to get into Rome from Parco Leonardo or London from Hayes and Harlington than from the next stop where the airports are.

Have you did the fare recently? VIE is alive so it might be easier to get there from CH for you. The FCO fares still seems to still be around too, but was wondering how the load factors are of late.