Puglia's sun-baked capital has no direct link to Texas, and that single fact shapes every itinerary you'll consider: there's no such thing as a nonstop flight for business class from Houston to Bari, so the routing you choose matters as much as the seat you book. My preferred path runs through Frankfurt on Lufthansa, where IAH's daily 787 or A350 departure connects to a short intra-European hop down to Bari — Lufthansa's long-haul cabin, increasingly outfitted with the new Allegris business suite on select aircraft, makes the transatlantic leg the most comfortable of the three options. Alternatively, Air France routes travelers through Paris CDG with their well-regarded business seat aboard the 777 or A350, feeding into a Bari connection via Rome or Milan on a partner carrier. ITA Airways (AZ), Italy's flag carrier, offers a Rome-hub itinerary that appeals to those who want to clear immigration in Fiumicino and finish the journey on a domestic Italian carrier they already trust.
Having flown all three combinations repeatedly, my strong preference is the Frankfurt routing whenever schedules align — FRA's business-class connections are efficient, and Lufthansa's lounge network there remains one of the best on the continent for resetting before a short final sector. If you route through Rome instead, build in extra connection time; Fiumicino's transfer process between international arrivals and domestic/Schengen departures can eat more time than online itineraries suggest, and business class fares on that final Bari segment are often sold as separate economy-cabin regional tickets, so don't expect lie-flat comfort on the last leg regardless of carrier.
Seasonality here follows classic southern Italy patterns: April, May, September, and October reward patient shoppers with the best combination of fare and weather, avoiding both August's Italian holiday crush and winter's thin schedules. One insider trick — Lufthansa Allegris availability on the Houston–Frankfurt sector varies significantly by aircraft rotation, so it pays to check the specific equipment before booking rather than assuming a uniform product. Given how erratic pricing on this multi-carrier route can be, setting up automated fare alerts is the smartest way to catch a premium seat before it disappears.
