With Emirates introduction of JFK-MXP-DXB service, a fare war broke out in the fall, driving base fares for New York to Milan to laughably low levels: $10 round trip. Of course, thanks to a $516 fuel surcharge, it’s not a complete steal. I booked one of these trips with American, giving myself one night in London and four in Milan.
American’s fares had a bit of an annoying quirk in them, requiring transit on AA198 and/or AA199 on the transatlantic leg for “New York” (Kennedy and La Guardia). As AA198 and AA199 are “direct” flights from and to Chicago O’Hare respectively, one could book somewhat strange looking itineraries such as LGA-ORD-JFK-MXP. I was interested in visiting London (again), so I picked a departure out of Newark, which allowed me to connect in London on to British Airways.