re: European flight question (Updated connection question/paging Cuse)

So, you want to spend an extra $1500 so that you can arrive late in the afternoon? OK, if that's what floats your boat, but I don't understand why you made a post about how expensive the flights are.

But, if arriving later is really what's important, there are still less expensive ways to arrive later in the day.

If you want to arrive in the afternoon (you still didn't say where in Italy you are flying, but I'll assume that it's Rome), here's what you can do:

You can buy a MSY-JFK nonstop RT with Delta for under $300. You can then fly in Premium with Norse Atlantic JFK-FCO for $1588 per person (or $662 in regular economy) and arrive at 3:15 PM.