HA air ATL-ROME

[porcia]

Anyone know what airline Holland American usually books with going from Atlanta to Rome? Thanks.

[Dalmore]

HA booked me Dallas to Rome connecting in Philadelphia on US Air. They returned me Rome to Dallas on Lufthansa Rome to Frankfurt to Chicago to Dallas. You can get better pricing and better connections by doing it yourself. Cruise Air is usually not confirmed until 30 days out and the seats you are assigned are usually all that is left on the cheapest tickets they can get. I will never use cruise air again. I have taken 9 international cruises and this was the first time I let someone talk me into cruise air. Big mistake!!!

[Desert Cruisers]

You might expect to fly Delta nonstop Atlanta to Rome but there is no guarantee. The cruiselines purchase the cheapest flights, not necessarily the most convenient flights.:)

[JJPNYC]

While not 100% related to the topic, I had a similar experience with a tour operator who included air in the package.

 

The big part of the group was flying from Cleveland to Frankfurt. The logic said that they would most likely go through Philadelphia, NYC, or one of the other Northeast US gateway cities. In actuality that tour operatore booked everyone on US AIr through Charlotte, including a nice 5 hour layover in Charlotte. Also looking at a map, Charlotte is not exactly the most direct routing to Europe from Cleveland.

 

I was flying from NYC, but still had to do this arcane routing through Charlotte as well to be with the group (Hello!!! You'd think I'd be able to get a direct flight to Frankfurt from NYC). The only time I want to be doing such an arcane routing is either if I'm doing a mileage run or to get an insanely cheap fare.

 

Just another reason to do your own airfare and meet up with your group/cruise at the destination whenever possible.

[porcia]

Thanks everyone. I guess I need more advice. The air is Atlanta to Rome and then Ft Lauderdale to Atlanta. I haven't been able to find one way air that can even compare with what HA has quoted. Any suggestions on where I can look or who to call? Thanks.

[Desert Cruisers]

It sounds like you are taking a repositioning cruise back from Europe. Sometimes the cruiseline may be the cheapest option. However, I stand by my earlier post that, unless you have it in writing from HAL, you may not be flying nonstop Atlanta-Rome. If this is important to you, take that into consideration when evaluating the price.:)

[porcia]

Thanks for advice. Don't really care if we are going non-stop to Rome, just am not to fond of flying Alitalia and can't tell if that is one of HA's usual airline selections.

[Desert Cruisers]

Delta and Alitalia codeshare so if you are flying out of Atlanta, Alitalia might be one of the options. Two suggestions - Call HAL and ask if they have used Alitalia in 2006; also look through HAL European/transatlantic cruises to see if there is any mention of cruise air. You might pick up a few bits of information this way.:)