Business Class Flights to Italy

ITA Airways is Italy's flag carrier and the successor to Alitalia, so if you've been searching for Alitalia business class, ITA is the airline you'll fly. It has more nonstop flights from the US to Rome than any other carrier: New York JFK, Boston, Miami and Los Angeles all year, Washington, San Francisco and Houston for most of the year, and Chicago in summer. The seat is lie-flat with direct aisle access on the A330neo and A350, and because ITA has the most seats to fill, ITA Airways business class is often the lowest price to Rome.

Delta One flies to all four main Italian airports from its New York and Atlanta hubs, and to Rome from Boston, Detroit and Minneapolis too. American Airlines flies Flagship Business to Rome from Dallas and Philadelphia all year, with more cities in summer, and to the other three in season. United Polaris flies to Rome from Newark and Washington, to Malpensa from Newark, and to Venice and Naples in summer. All three offer a lie-flat seat, and all three sell connections through their European partners when the direct flight is full.

Three smaller airlines are worth knowing for the north. La Compagnie flies Newark to Malpensa with an all-business-class aircraft and is often the lowest lie-flat offer on that route. Emirates flies JFK to Malpensa on its way to Dubai, and its cabin and onboard amenities are a step up from anything else across the Atlantic. JetBlue flies Mint from Boston in summer. On the Rome side, Norse Atlantic flies from JFK in summer with a premium cabin that reclines but isn't a flat bed, and we'll mention it when it's the better offer.

Rome is where most business class flights to Italy land. Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport has direct flights from more than a dozen US cities in summer on ITA, Delta, American, United, Alaska and Norse, and it's the natural gateway for the Eternal City itself, the south, and any destination a fast train reaches in a few hours. The express train gets you to Termini station in about thirty minutes.

Because so many airlines compete, business class flights to Rome, Italy are usually the lowest fares to Italy, especially from New York, where cheap business class to Rome is easiest to find. From the West Coast it comes down to a few direct flights, ITA's among them, or a one-stop through Europe, and LAX to Rome business class, like SFO to Rome business class, is worth comparing that way. For routes and fares from every departure city, see our page on business class flights to Rome.

Milan Malpensa Airport is the gateway to the north: the city, Lake Como and Lake Garda, Turin, the Dolomites, and a two-hour train to Florence or Venice. From New York it has more competing airlines than any other Italian route, Delta, American, United, La Compagnie and Emirates, which is why business class to Milan is sometimes cheaper than to Rome on the same dates. New York to Milan business class is where that competition shows most. From Los Angeles or San Francisco there is no direct flight, so it's a connection through Europe or New York, and we price both.

Venice Marco Polo has a direct flight from JFK on Delta all year, and in summer from Newark, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas and Philadelphia. Business class to Venice costs more than the bigger airports in July and August, when the direct flights are full, and less in the shoulder months, when a connection through Rome, Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt takes only a couple of hours longer. For most travelers, it works best as the city you fly home from.

Naples is a summer-only destination from the US: Delta from JFK and Atlanta, United from Newark, American from Philadelphia and Chicago. It's the airport for the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Positano and Pompeii, and for travelers who'd rather not spend a day getting down from Rome. Outside summer, flights there connect through Rome or a European hub.

Florence has no direct flights from the USA, and its airport takes only smaller aircraft. There are two ways to do it. Land at a bigger airport and take the train, ninety minutes from Rome and under two hours from Milan, or book a one-stop through Paris on Air France, Amsterdam on KLM, Frankfurt on Lufthansa or Zurich on Swiss straight into Florence. If Florence and Tuscany are the destination, the one-stop is often the better trip. We quote both.

New York to Italy has the most choice: JFK to Rome on ITA, Delta, American and Norse, JFK to Malpensa on Delta, American and Emirates, Newark to both on United and to Malpensa on La Compagnie, and JFK to Venice on Delta. New York to Rome business class, from JFK or Newark, is the most competitive run in the country, and JFK to Rome business class in particular is where an agent's contract fares make the biggest difference.

Los Angeles and San Francisco have ITA direct to Rome, all year from Los Angeles and for most of the year from San Francisco, and United adds San Francisco in summer. It's a twelve-hour flight. Chicago has ITA, American and United to Rome, all seasonal. Miami has ITA to Rome all year and American to Rome and Milan in season. Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston, Detroit and Minneapolis each have at least one direct flight to Rome for most of the year.

From any other departure city, we connect you through the nearest gateway on one ticket, and we can quote an upgrade from economy to business on just the long flight if that's the part you care about.

Every airline on these routes includes lounge access, priority boarding, two checked bags and a flat bed in business class. On Italy routes the difference is mostly food and timing. ITA serves Italian food and wine from the first course, and the eight to twelve hour overnight flight lands you in Rome or Milan in the morning, rested enough to enjoy the first day instead of sleeping through it. None of it changes with the price you pay, so a discounted ticket booked through us gets the same seat, comfort and service.

Want to find cheap business class flights to Italy? The cheapest business class to Italy is almost always into Rome or Milan from New York, and almost never into Venice or Naples in July. Four things decide business class fares to Italy.

Season: best time to book business class tickets to Italy

Late May through September and the two weeks around Christmas are peak, and the seasonal service to Venice and Naples runs only from spring to autumn. Late October through March, holidays aside, is when business class seats are at their lowest, often 30 to 40 percent lower on the same airline and route. Italy in November or February is quieter, cheaper on the ground too, and still Italy.

Direct or connecting flights

The direct flight is usually the best value from the East Coast. From the West Coast, Texas or the Midwest, a connection through a European hub can come in well under it, and for Florence or Bologna it's the only way in. We quote both.

Travel dates and seat availability

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday departures price lower than Friday and Sunday, and many discounted business class fares require a Saturday night stay, which most Italy trips include. Airlines release their lowest fares in small numbers, so seat availability at the best price changes daily. Moving your trip by a day or two often saves more than any other change.

Published or unpublished fares: where lower prices come from

ITA, Delta, United and American all release part of their business class cabins to Italy through contract fares that never appear on their own websites or on flight search engines. Those unpublished fares are what we book, and they're how our clients save up to 70%* on published prices, most noticeably in summer, when published fares to Italy peak. The fare rules can differ from the airline's own, mostly around changes and cancellation, so your agent explains the policy before you book, and quotes a flexible booking fare if you need one.

Most people don't fly to Italy to stay in one city. The best way to see Rome and Venice, or Milan and the Amalfi Coast, is an open-jaw ticket: into one airport, home from another, on one booking. On most business class fares it costs the same as a round trip, and it saves a day of backtracking. Common combinations are into Rome and out of Milan, into Milan and out of Venice, and into Rome and out of Naples in summer. Tell your agent the cities and the order, and we'll build the trip around the best pair of flights.

Only Emirates flies a true first class cabin on a direct flight between the US and Italy. ITA, Delta, United and American all top out at business class here, and the Emirates flight from JFK sells its top cabin on the Milan leg too. Otherwise, first class to Italy means connecting through a hub that has it, British Airways via London, Lufthansa via Frankfurt or Munich, or Swiss via Zurich, with first on the long flight and business on the short leg into Italy. For a special trip we'll quote it.