• CONTACT US if you have any problems registering for the forums.

Putting the puzzle pieces together

artnbarb

1000+ Posts
I have EIGHT flights to book for our travels this summer, and making everything work together is like putting a puzzle together! Not surprisingly, I've booked the last flight first - but only because I was using FF miles. Routes and mileage requirements change daily, so once I found an Itinerary I liked, I (reluctantly) chose a date to fly home from Italy. This year I've decided to break our return flight into two legs: Rome to the states, going through London, an overnight in Charlotte, then a mid-morning flight to Tampa the next day. The alternative was flying all day, returning to Tampa at night. I'm hoping this layover makes the day less stressful.

Now all I need to do is book the other 5 flights. First up will be a round-trip to Louisville - my daughter has selected Saturday, July 25 as a wedding date, so I'm guessing we'll fly in on Wednesday or Thursday, then return home on Monday, July 27.

Just a few days later. on Saturday, we'll fly to DC to visit our granddaughters. I'm not sure if they'll be able to come to the wedding, so this will be our only chance to spend some time with them. . I booked this flight on SWA and if I need to change the date there won't be a penalty.

Next up is probably the trickiest flight - from either DC or Philly to Dublin. United/Aer Lingus codeshare has a direct flight from Dulles to Dublin, one arriving at 5:10 a.m. - NO THANKS! - and one arriving at 9 or 10, which is more palatable. American has a direct flight to Dublin from Philly, or we can also fly from DCA to Dublin. We'll see how the prices compare.

The last flight I need to book is Dublin to Rome FCO. Aer Lingus has a direct flight, so now all I have to do is watch the prices. I'm signed up on Hopper for price alerts, and I'm really hoping i remember to book everything. I'm going to make a big paper calendar to hang on my bulletin board to check off things as they're booked. I really need a hard copy to feel in control!

Juggling all these dates and trying to get the best prices is really challenging!
 
I've booked the last flight first - but only because I was using FF miles.

Now all I need to do is book the other 5 flights. First up will be a round-trip to Louisville - my daughter has selected Saturday, July 25 as a wedding date, so I'm guessing we'll fly in on Wednesday or Thursday, then return home on Monday, July 27.
You actually got to use frequent flyer miles? It's a miracle! :D

And congrats on your daughter's wedding!
 
We've used our FF miles to fly to Rome for the last several years. Now we don't have that many miles left, but luckily the flight this year (after Nov 1) is only 22,500 miles per person. Booking early is the key, and checking every day until you find the itinerary that works for you.

As for the wedding, I'm still not ready to book those flights - I don't think she's 100% in. I hope to have a better idea after spending some time with her next week.
 
As for the wedding, I'm still not ready to book those flights - I don't think she's 100% in. I hope to have a better idea after spending some time with her next week.
Oh, oh. I'm going to stay tuned for another episode of As the World Turns!
 
I wouldn't like the 0510 arrival in Dublin. We did it once, but only because we were travelling onward the same day back to Wales. I had a similar flight arrival time in New Zealand once, and so I booked a hotel for the previous night and told them I was arriving around 0500 by air.

I was so glad I did that because by the time I got to Auckland it must have been 35 hours since I left home, and all I wanted to do was to crawl into bed. I just can't sleep on planes.

You seem to be well on top of things, and while it can be very challenging to put all the pieces together, I don't think you're going to have any problems at all!
 
Well, I did it. I'm not sure if it was a stress buy or a panic buy, but prices for the IAD-DUB flight with the itinerary I wanted dropped below $500, which was the number I'd set in my head earlier in the year., so I went ahead and bought them. The flight is for mid-August - hopefully the corona virus outbreak will be under control by then. Fingers crossed.
 

How to Find Information

Search using the search button in the upper right. Search all forums or current forum by keyword or member. Advanced search gives you more options.

Filter forum threads using the filter pulldown above the threads. Filter by prefix, member, date. Or click on a thread title prefix to see all threads with that prefix.

Sponsors

Booking.com Hotels in Europe
AutoEurope.com Car Rentals

Recommended Guides, Apps and Books

52 Things to See and Do in Basilicata by Valerie Fortney
Italian Food & Life Rules by Ann Reavis
Italian Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
French Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
She Left No Note, Lake Iseo Italy Mystery 1 by J L Crellina

Share this page

Back
Top