Help Planning Award Travel to Rome or Naples June 2016
 

I am a 1K United (Until 2016) I am looking to book Award travel for two adults in business class for June 23-July 5th 2016 (dates are a little flexible) to either Rome or Naples Italy. I need to depart from Charleston, SC, Myrtle Beach, SC or somewhere close. Currently I have a flight from CHS on 23 June to Rome in Business class thru IAD for 150K miles. My return is a Business saver from Rome to CHS via ORD on 5 July for 67.5K miles. I can't find any business saver awards for the trip to Rome. Any advice?

I also could potentially leave from SFO BUT I need to stop in CHS or MYR on the way to drop the kids off at the grandparents. I don't think I can get that all on one ticket but if anyone can think of a way I am all ears.

If you haven't already, try LX via BOS-ZRH-FCO for the tatl leg. I haven't looked at getting to Logan, though.

Whitey

FCO is a tough TATL origin/destination for *A, and tougher still in C because they will try to sell it this far out, rather than open I.

I'd recommend searching through easier award destinations and *A hubs in Europe (e.g., BRU, AMS, or FRA/MUC/DUS) from a variety of east coast airports served to those places (use the LH and AC route maps). Get the TATL set up, searching just for the TATL segment. Flights within Europe are easy (and there's so little difference between biz and economy that you can book economy with really no worries), and flights to one of your origin airports to the TATL departure will open up at some point in the next 9 months.

Get something acceptable. You're 1K, so you can change/improve it as many times as you want for free.

If you are willing to fly to Naples, then that's what I'd suggest. It's a much simpler airport to manage (caveat: lived in Naples, so was used to it).

You'll end up having to connect somewhere, likely MUC or FRA, and then take the last hop to NAP, but the connection times were always adequate and the flight short enough that ending up in economy on LH was never an issue. Although, if you are booking an award all the way, you would get "business", which as you are probably aware, is just the front section of economy with the middle seat blocked and the armrests widened.