Let’s Go to Europe this Summer – Rome
Category : Uncategorized
This is Part II in a series. See Part I: Let’s Go to Europe this Summer – Dublin. All screenshots showing award space are reflective of the day posted.
Every summer thousands and thousands of tourists migrate over the Atlantic ocean and flock to European cities.
Though the ideal time would have been September 2015 to start looking at summer to Europe award availability, sometimes it’s hard to know summer schedules so far in advance.
Can we find any available now?
This week we’ll be looking at a few of the interesting Top 10 Trending European Summer destinations according to Kayak.
Before we get started, here are the search parameters:
- All travel will be searched roundtrip, originating in the United States
- Connecting flights are acceptable; direct are preferred
- All travel will be for two passengers in both economy and business, if available
- The peak months of travel to Europe, June and July will be examined.
- NYC will be used as the departure location as it has hubs for all the airlines; plus it is geographically the closest location to Continental Europe.
- Searches will be conducted on United (Star Alliance) Delta or Air France (SkyTeam) American or Alaska (One World)
Which Miles to Use?
Here are redemption prices to Europe. All values are roundtrip and in the thousands.
| Economy | Business | About Fuel Surcharges & Tax | Stopovers? | Comments | Tranfers from: | |
| United | 60 | 115 – 140 | None; avoid returing from London | On roundtrip and one open jaw | Higher price is partner award pricing | Chase |
| American | 60 | 115 | Avoid flying British airways or returning from London | None | SPG | |
| Delta | 60 | 125 | All one-way flights returning from Europe have fuel surcharges; avoid connecting through Moscow | None | Delta award pricing is variable, but these are the lowest and most desirable redemption prices | SPG, AMEX |
| Air France | 50 | 125 | No fuel on Delta & low when departing fromthe U.S.; highest when connecting through Moscow | One stopover and one open-jaw | AMEX, CIti | |
| Air Canada’s Aeroplan | 60 – 75 | 110 – 115 | No fuel on United, Brussels, Scandinavian, Swiss, Turkish and low on LOT Polish | One stopover or one open-jaw, or two stopovers on a roundtrip | Europe is diveded up into two regions | AMEX, CIti |
| Alaska | 60 | 100 | Avoid flying British or returning from London | One per direction of travel, but no mixed airline awards | Pricing based off of flying on American | SPG |
| Singapore | 55 | 130 | Fuel surcharge on most except United | Not within Europe | SPG, Citi, AMEX, Chase |
Overall, Star Alliance has the most options for getting to Europe from the U.S. United miles are really excellent option as they never pass on fuel surcharges. If you are going to leave from Europe, avoid London and other London-area airports at all costs. Fuel surcharges range between $150 – $300 depending on the class of service.
Sometimes it will make sense or be necessary to book two one-ways. Practically, this means you’ll lose that stopover.
Coach redemption prices are pretty reasonable across the board. The cheapest are on Singapore, United and using Alaska miles to fly American metal to Europe. (They still price out awards like the old American award chart.)
In terms of business, they are also pretty standard, but if you want to avoid fuel surcharges, that usually means when redeeming Star Alliance miles you’ll be limited to United flights and the occasional SAS, Swiss and Brussels planes. Lufthansa, with the exception of booking on united, can run $300+ in fuel surcharges.
If you’ve been saving those Delta miles, business class to Europe represent a great redemption at 62.5K one way, 125K roundtrip. You can fly on solid partners like Air France, Alitalia or Virgin Atlantic.
Award Availability: New York to Rome
One World
American flies from both New York (JFK) and Philadelphia to Rome (FCO). With One World, you can connect to rome via Madrid, Berlin or Helsinki. I’d avoid going through London due to high fuel surcharges.
Coach from New York-Rome-New York in June
Based on our Dublin route, this seems pretty consistent. Some of these dates are direct, but many go through Philadelphia. You’ll notice the return has higher fuel surcharges ($84.00), but nothing like going back from London.
Business from New York-Rome-New York in June
Not surprising–nothing in business for two. I also checked on AA and via Madrid, Helsinki and Berlin. Nothing.
Coach from New York-Rome-New York in July
Several dates on the ex-NYC, and only one (!) returning.
Business from New York-Rome-New York in July
I’ll spare you the screenshot. Nothing.
Overall, unless these dates work for you exactly, you’re probably better off with other carriers and miles. And forget about flying premium.
Star Alliance
United operates one daily direct flight from Newark to Rome. As you’ll see, there’s plenty of availability for two passengers in all classes of service (even first class on United metal!). More premium options if you connect, of course.
Coach/Business from New York-Rome-New York in June/July
Coach/Business from New York-Rome-New York in June/July
Plethora of business and first class space returning from Rome in June.
Overall, if you want to fly United’s aged but comfortable business class, or Lufthansa’s new business class via Frankfurt, there are lots of solid options. And remember, if you book using United miles (regardless of who you are flying), you can hit up a few more cities by taking advantage of the stopover.
Sky Team
Alitalia, the national carrier of Italy and major hub in Rome (FCO), is a member of Skyteam. They have a solid business class. Let’s see how much availability there is across the pond…
Coach from New York-Rome-New York in June
New York – Rome (Coach) – June
Rome – New York (Coach) – June
Business from New York-Rome-New York in June
New York – Rome (Business) June
I would not recommend book this flight–after takes on the roundtrip, you’ll owe around $450, if not more.
Rome – New York (Business) – June
Coach from New York-Rome-New York in July
New York – Rome (Coach) July
Great availability on the outbound, but less so on the return (only 6 days at the saver level):
Rome – New York (July) – Coach
Business from New York-Rome-New York in July
As with June, business class fuel surcharges are too high to justify the flight… There is one day: July 11 from Newark – Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Rome that has business class seats on Delta. Get it now!
It’s unfortunate that all Alitalia and Delta direct space is booked in all classes of service. These awards that originate in New York or the U.S., but don’t show up on Delta, should be bookable. You may just need to call them in (and avoid fuel surcharges). Remember, one-ways from Europe using Skyteam miles will incur high fuel surcharges, almost on par with flying British Airways out of London.
Summary
I was disappointed that there wasn’t better availability on Alitalia and Delta, but not surprising considering that (as of this writing) it’s May 16 and the summer travel season is almost in full swing–and who wouldn’t want to fly direct?
You can’t go wrong with United. Plus, there’s a lot of direct availability to take advantage of; because of the nice direct availability on United metal, you can’t go wrong using any Star Alliance partner miles.
Later this week we’ll look at availability going to… Athens.
-The Miner
