Finding the cheapest airfare, air travel comfort, no-frills airlines, baggage restrictions, and more
If your bag measures more than 45" total (L+W+D), it is probably too big for the overhead bin
London is the cheap airfares turnstile of Europe, so fly cheaply into here and then elsewhere in Europe or North Africa on a no-frills airline for far less
Airfares links
- Skiplagged.com - (Aggregator) In 2019, Skiplagged quietly dethroned Momondo as the best aggregator on the market. I ran all the major websites through a battery of tests, including 16 city-to-city pairs, and Skiplagged came up with the best price ten times. The next two top finishers—Momondo and Skyscanner—did so only six times each. Impressive. They're all still great—and Momondo's interface is far better and more useful—and on any given search you never know which one will find the lowest fare, so it pays to check out all three. But for now, I'm calling it: If you only check one, it should probably be Skiplagged. Once caveat: The name of the site comes from a pratice called skip-lagging, in which you book a flight that is going somewhere else but happens to be making a stop in the destination you want, so you board the plane and simply get off when it lands in the interim city. This is one of the few aggregators that inclues those kinds of results—it calls them "Hidden City" fares. Yes, it can sometimes be cheaper than a direct flight (especially to secondary and tertiary cities), but it comes with a few issues: (a) you can't check any luggage, since it wouldn't be off-loaded until the final destination, and (b) it violates the terms of service—the fine print of your ticket—and some airlines have gone after people, charging them high fees for doing it (especially if you try to put in your frequent flier number).Partner
- Momondo.com - (Aggregator) Before I get into details, just know this: 90% of the time, I find the lowest fares on Momondo. Momondo quietly blows most of the other aggregators out of the water—except newcomer Skiplagged. It searches more than 600 airline sites, plus booking engines, search engines, travel agencies, online discounters, etc. This is two to three times as many sources as the competition—including the low-cost carriers and no-frills airlines most of the other search engines ignore—and it pays off. You can also quickly see which flight is cheapest and which quickest (and which best overall), as well as use all the usual filters on the results (length of flight, departure/arrival times, number of stops, airlines, etc.). I ran Momondo through many tests, and it almost always found the lowest available fares on domestic, Transatlantic, and inter-European flights. It found fares from carriers none of the others did, and when it did find the same flights as some of the competition, it almost invariably managed to find a lower price for it.Partner
- Flyinternational.com - (Consolidator) The airfares branch of AutoEurope.com consistently offers among the cheapest (and most reliable) European airfare consolidators out there. Barring some sale fare elsewhere, this is where I almost always end up buying my transatlantic tickets for the simple reason that they are almost always the cheapest. This is also why I chose to partner with them for this site.Partner
- Skyscanner.com - (Aggregator) Another excellent aggregator that, like Momondo, also includes the little low-cost carriers and no-frills airlines ignored by most other search engines. I like that you can be as vague on your departure/arrival points as simply an entire country, rather than a specific city of airport—you never know when, say, a flight into Lyon will actually be cheaper than one to Paris.Partner
- Hotwire.com - (OTA) Offers regaular fare searches and Hot Rates opaque fares (cost less, but with slightly less control over departure times and other details)Partner
- Google.com/flights - (Aggregator) Google has acquired ITA, the original airfare booking engine long used by travel agents. It's now available to the general public, and niftily shows you the rough current lowest cost for flights to pretty much anywhere from your hometown via a Google map measled with red dots marking major cities around the world. It doesn't allow you to book, but will tell you where/how to book the results it finds. Not really a strong performer on internaitonal flights yet—though, oddly, does a good job with last-minute international fares, so worth checking.
- Hipmunk.com - (Aggregator) The aggregator that rethought how searches should be delivered—and I always like those who think outside the search box. All results are shown on a timeline, and the default sort-order for flights that match your search is "Agony"—a combination factoring in price, flight duration, and stopovers—so that the least annoying options pop up first. You can also sort more traditionally by price, duration, departure time, arrival time, non-stop only, and ask it to favor your preferred airlines (or airline alliance). One drawback: It really only serarches the airlines directly plus a few booking engines like Expedia, so you're not getting the full story (no discounters are in the mix). Still: handy.
- CheapOair.com - (OTA) Upstart consolidator and discounter using the power of the Web to weave together the best bargains and negotiated discounts with three reservations systems and fifteen travel service providers—something of a mash-up of a traditional booking service and a wholesaler. It claims 18 million exclusive flight deals, a low airfare guarantee, and 84,000 negotiated hotel rates.Partner
- Vayama.com - (Aggregator) One of the original international airfare aggregators, and still one of the better ones.Partner
- Expedia.com - (OTA) Expedia—which does a fine job on middle-of-the-road fares—is the last remaining of the Big Three online travel agencies. (Expedia bought both Travelocity and Orbitz in 2015; Travelocity's search results are now identical to those at Expsia, and we can only hope Orbitz's lackluster results follow suit.)Partner
Airports links
- Adr.it - Website for both Leonardo Da Vinic-Fiumicino (FCO) and Roma-Ciampino (CIA).
- Milanomalpensa-airport.com - Milan Malpensa (MXP)
- Veniceairport.it - Venice (VCE)
- Trevisoairport.it - Treviso's A. Canova Airpoirt is often used by low-cost carriers to service nearby Venice.
- Aeroportodinapoli.it - Naples (NAP)
Useful Italian phrases
Useful Italian for air travel
| English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| Where is... | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
| the airport | l'aeroporto | LAHW-ro-port-oh |
| the airplane | l'aereo | LAIR-reh-oh |
| terminal | terminal | TEAR-me-nahl |
| flight | volo | VOH-lo |
| gate | uscita d'imbarco | oo-SHEE-tah deem-BARK-oh |
| to the right | à destra | ah DEH-strah |
| to the left | à sinistra | ah see-NEEST-trah |
| straight ahead | avanti [or] diritto | ah-VAHN-tee [or] dee-REE-toh |
| keep going straight | sempre diritto | SEM-pray dee-REE-toh |
| departures | partenze | par-TEN-zay |
| arrivals | arrivi | ah-REE-vee |
| delayed | in ritardo | een ree-TAR-doh |
| on time | in orario | een oh-RAH-ree-yo |
| early | in avanti | een ah-VAHN-tee |
| boarding | imbarco | eem-BARK-o |
| connecting flight | la coincidenza | la ko-een-chee-DEN-za |
| check-in | accettazione | ah-chet-ta-zee-YO-nee |
| immigration | controllo passaporti | cone-TRO-lo pah-sa-POR-tee |
| security check | controllo di sicurezza | kohn-TRO-lo dee see-kur-AY-tzah |
| customs | dogana | do-GA-na |
| shuttle | la navetta | lah na-VET-tah |
| boarding pass | carta d'imbarco | kart-ta deem-BARK-o |
| baggage claim | ritiro bagagli | ree-TEER-oh bah-GA-lyee |
| carry-on luggage | bagaglio à mano | bah-GA-lyo ah MA_no |
| checked luggage | bagalio | bah-GA-lyo |
Basic phrases in Italian
| English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | pro-nun-see-YAY-shun |
| thank you | grazie | GRAT-tzee-yay |
| please | per favore | pair fa-VOHR-ray |
| yes | si | see |
| no | no | no |
| Do you speak English? | Parla Inglese? | PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
| I don't understand | Non capisco | non ka-PEESK-koh |
| I'm sorry | Mi dispiace | mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
| How much is it? | Quanto costa? | KWAN-toh COST-ah |
| That's too much | É troppo | ay TROH-po |
| Good day | Buon giorno | bwohn JOUR-noh |
| Good evening | Buona sera | BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
| Good night | Buona notte | BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
| Goodbye | Arrivederci | ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
| Excuse me (to get attention) | Scusi | SKOO-zee |
| Excuse me (to get past someone) | Permesso | pair-MEH-so |
| Where is? | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
| ...the bathroom | il bagno | eel BHAN-yoh |
| ...train station | la ferroviaria | lah fair-o-vee-YAR-ree-yah |
| to the right | à destra | ah DEH-strah |
| to the left | à sinistra | ah see-NEEST-trah |
| straight ahead | avanti [or] diritto | ah-VAHN-tee [or] dee-REE-toh |
| information | informazione | in-for-ma-tzee-OH-nay |
Days, months, and other calendar items in Italian
| English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| When is it open? | Quando é aperto? | KWAN-doh ay ah-PAIR-toh |
| When does it close? | Quando si chiude? | KWAN-doh see key-YOU-day |
| At what time... | a che ora | a kay O-rah |
| Yesterday | ieri | ee-YAIR-ee |
| Today | oggi | OH-jee |
| Tomorrow | domani | doh-MAHN-nee |
| Day after tomorrow | dopo domani | DOH-poh doh-MAHN-nee |
| a day | un giorno | oon je-YOR-no |
| Monday | Lunedí | loo-nay-DEE |
| Tuesday | Martedí | mar-tay-DEE |
| Wednesday | Mercoledí | mair-coh-lay-DEE |
| Thursday | Giovedí | jo-vay-DEE |
| Friday | Venerdí | ven-nair-DEE |
| Saturday | Sabato | SAH-baa-toh |
| Sunday | Domenica | doh-MEN-nee-ka |
| Mon-Sat | Feriali | fair-ee-YAHL-ee |
| Sun & holidays | Festivi | feh-STEE-vee |
| Daily | Giornaliere | joor-nahl-ee-YAIR-eh |
| a month | una mese | oon-ah MAY-zay |
| January | gennaio | jen-NAI-yo |
| February | febbraio | feh-BRI-yo |
| March | marzo | MAR-tzoh |
| April | aprile | ah-PREEL-ay |
| May | maggio | MAH-jee-oh |
| June | giugno | JEW-nyoh |
| July | luglio | LOO-lyoh |
| August | agosto | ah-GO-sto |
| September | settembre | set-TEM-bray |
| October | ottobre | oh-TOE-bray |
| November | novembre | no-VEM-bray |
| December | dicembre | de-CHEM-bray |
Numbers in Italian
| English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| 1 | uno | OO-no |
| 2 | due | DOO-way |
| 3 | tre | tray |
| 4 | quattro | KWAH-troh |
| 5 | cinque | CHEEN-kway |
| 6 | sei | say |
| 7 | sette | SET-tay |
| 8 | otto | OH-toh |
| 9 | nove | NO-vay |
| 10 | dieci | dee-YAY-chee |
| 11 | undici | OON-dee-chee |
| 12 | dodici | DOH-dee-chee |
| 13 | tredici | TRAY-dee-chee |
| 14 | quattordici | kwa-TOR-dee-chee |
| 15 | quindici | KWEEN-dee-chee |
| 16 | sedici | SAY-dee-chee |
| 17 | diciasette | dee-chee-ya-SET-tay |
| 18 | diciotto | dee-CHO-toh |
| 19 | diciannove | dee-chee-ya-NO-vay |
| 20 | venti | VENT-tee |
| 21* | vent'uno* | vent-OO-no |
| 22* | venti due* | VENT-tee DOO-way |
| 23* | venti tre* | VENT-tee TRAY |
| 30 | trenta | TRAYN-tah |
| 40 | quaranta | kwa-RAHN-tah |
| 50 | cinquanta | cheen-KWAN-tah |
| 60 | sessanta | say-SAHN-tah |
| 70 | settanta | seh-TAHN-tah |
| 80 | ottanta | oh-TAHN-tah |
| 90 | novanta | no-VAHN-tah |
| 100 | cento | CHEN-toh |
| 1,000 | mille | MEEL-lay |
| 5,000 | cinque milla | CHEEN-kway MEEL-lah |
| 10,000 | dieci milla | dee-YAY-chee MEEL-lah |
* You can use this formula for all Italian ten-place numbers—so 31 is trent'uno, 32 is trenta due, 33 is trenta tre, etc. Note that—like uno (one), otto (eight) also starts with a vowel—all "-8" numbers are also abbreviated (vent'otto, trent'otto, etc.).
