Greece Trip
 

First time booking to Greece. Just retired and I am taking my adult kids and wife with. Flying out of Chicago to Athens any hints on airlines? Arriving Oct 8 out on the 15th. Never been overseas except for Viet Nam.

Do you have any miles with airlines already?

Welcome to FT!

Welcome!
I'm moving this to a more appropriate forum.

There seem to be a lot of cheap fares on that route then, so you should have plenty of choice. Of the airlines I know that fly that route, the best in my experience would be Austrian, though unfortunately their flights on that route are 2 stops. Maybe the best 1-stop would be Lufthansa -- some of their flights connect through Munich, which isn't a bad airport. Air France isn't a bad airline, but CDG is an awful airport. BA business class is wonderful but coach class is horrible -- the most cramped international seating I've encountered -- and Heathrow is hell.

I'd go with LH (Lufthansa) via MUC. You'll most likely connent to an LH codeshare on Aegean, which was one of the nicest flights I've had recently.

MUC is a dream airport of transfers, much better than FRA, which would be your other option on LH.

If you want a US carrier, you can do the same connection using United (UA) to MUC and then on via LH/Aegean.

Welcome to FT.

I have to totally disagree with this. I thought BA was fine in economy and LHR no different than any other airport. I had no problems there.

Well, all I can say is that the first time I took BA transatlantic economy, the seat was so cramped that I seriously wondered whether I were being subjected to some sort of practical joke. It's been some years since I've done that, so maybe they are better now. I've noticed though that the charts on seatguru.com indicate that BA's economy 777 transatlantic seats are among the smallest listed --often not by much, but even half an inch makes a surprising difference.

As for LHR, I'm hardly alone in my feelings -- a search will find FT postings by more travelers than me swearing never to go through there again.

Cheapest right now is Delta and the 767 isn't horrible in coach. If you are looking at Biz then keep an eye on CO as that can be had for under 2K.

One week for Greece is to short. OCT is a great time to visit so don't be in a hurry. If you never plan to go back then take 3 weeks and send the kids home early.

Welcome to FT! Lots of good Chicago-Athens flights in October, pick just about any day and almost any airline, it seems to be $600-$700 for the round trip. If you belong to any frequent flyer program, choose accordingly; otherwise join one! Agree with the advice to spend a few extra days, if possible. Good luck.