flights to Rome....sticker shock!!
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Anonymous
| We paid $2900 pp for IAD-Rome round trip ($2230 pp pre-taxes & fees, for United premium seats with extra legroom) back in November. |
Anonymous
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I think the problem is you are booking much too late. I feel like maybe pre-pandemic, sometimes you could find awesome deals (especially 2017 through 2019) but now you have to book WAYYY in advance and might have to make extra concessions if you want to keep prices down.
There seem to be 2 main types of people on this page: people that are willing to pay the extra high costs and for non-stop and those that are looking for the deals, how to cut costs, and keep travel reasonably affordable. I am not traveling the week over spring break but a few weeks earlier. I booked early August for myself and my kids Saturday-Saturday. I just looked up some info I had saved from when I was looking for 1 adult + 2 kids. Play airlines (super budget, kids have their backpack, I have a personal item+ extra paid carry-on) so pp Paris would have been $333, London $350 (this is what we chose), Copenhagen around the same, Stockholm also the same, I believe Italy was about $400 with a different airline, maybe SAS. Check play airlines to see if there's any last minute deals - like I said, ULTRA budget and not my preference when I can get a full-service airline but in a pinch....it gets you there and you don't need THAT much just for a week! My kids backpacks count as a personal item (measured them) and they just bring one pair of shoes. You might need to change destinations or spend one night in another spot and then fly out the next day on a budget airline in Europe to Italy (you would still want minimal luggage for that purpose and for lugging it all around). Check out family youth hostels and private rooms...you might find a deal still if you are lucky! Good Luck!! I'd definitely play it safe and book your trip EARLY next year 
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Anonymous
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Oh and keep us posted on what you find!! I'm curious to see what will pan out Check google flights, skyscanner. Hopper I find is mostly useless because they look at historical data and what we are seeing now isn't so much based on historical data and patterns are changing. Avoid renting a car, book any train tickets right AFTER you book your flight! You should still be able to get good deals on trains if you need them in europe. I think you can still salvage this spring break and have a great time, even if it's not to Italy. Just be flexible, frame it as a fun adventure and be positive and your kids will follow suit.
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Anonymous
| Flights are higher to everywhere. We booked flights to Milan for spring break back in November. We got a really good deal, $650pp roundtrip. Flights to Rome were about $300 more. I just looked online, and similar flights to Milan are still about $800. This does not help OP if they are set on Rome, but for our trip and purposes, flying into Milan worked for us- it didn’t hurt that for four of us it was $1200 cheaper flying into Milan vs Rome. |
Anonymous
Rome is the priciest destination in Italy. Look at Milan or Venice. |
Anonymous
| You are trying to fly nonstop from DC on the one airline that flies direct non-stop from here and it shocks you that they are jacking up rates? |
Anonymous
Is a premium seat Polaris and/or business? |
Anonymous
NP here. Premium Economy (not to be confused with Economy Plus on United) is in between economy Plus and business. It's a relatively new service that a lot of airlines are introducing on international flights. The seats are a bit bigger and they have a footrest and I think the food was a bit of an upgrade over regular economy. We flew United Premium economy from EWR-GVA recently and it was decent. It's not nearly as good as Polaris though! |
Anonymous
This. Could also try flying into a European city served by multiple airlines out of IAD which will probably have a lower price. And either take the train or fly on a low cost carrier to Rome. Or fly into a different city in Rome. Could also look at prices out of EWR and JFK. |
Anonymous
The seats are very similar to domestic first class in terms of width and legroom, and include a legrest. The TV screen is pretty big, around 13 inches I think. Food is similar to business, which on United is nothing special AT ALL. Their biggest failing right now. |
Anonymous
| Ok, to echo what everyone is saying. You want a certain airline, a nonstop flight, a busy/holiday/popular week, and you’re only 2 months out. Yes, that is going to cost more than you are used to. There are plenty of flights that week for half the price if you’re willing to fly with one connection. |
Anonymous
Yep, we scrapped a planned trip to the UK this summer for the same reason. Really bummed because we had been discussing it in front of the kids and they were excited. Flights to Healthrow were $1300 and I was expecting $700-800 if we were flexible on dates which we were. It didn't matter. |
Anonymous
^ meant different city in Italy, obviously |
Anonymous
| Flights to Europe are like twice the normal price now. We paid $12k for our flights (family of 4, first class) to Europe over the winter break. |
Anonymous
Flying British Airways? I believe that's the only European airline still offering first class to Europe from IAD. |